Author: Michele

Wandering Wednesday

There is Sunshine in My Soul #6

Michele

There is sunshine in my soul

Fall is in the air finally in Texas! It is nice to sit here with the windows open feeling the breeze! This week has again flown by with football games, playdates at the park, and painting the shed!

Yes, remember the shed we were building in the post Heaven Help Me! Not Another Home Improvement Project? We are finally to the painting part! And yes, we might have had to pull up the article for a refresher course when it was my turn to be in charge again 🙂

I feel like life is starting to calm down a bit and I am finally headed out of mom funk. How has your mom funk gotten since finding gratitude each day?

So that brings us to what have I been grateful for this week!

Continue reading “There is Sunshine in My Soul #6” →

Kids, parenting, Parenting is hard

The 6th Grade Curse and How to Get Through It

Michele

Two years ago when Colby entered the sixth grade along came a horrendous attitude. I thought to myself where did this come from and where is my child? The attitude came along with the back talking, the refusal to help, and a list and mile long of other things that we got to deal with. We felt at the time the best thing to do was to be more strict and show him that we were in charge and that he needed to be respectful to us… Needless to say this technique did not work. We thought to ourselves this must just be our child going through a rough patch and that we obviously were failing as parents… But now two years later we are faced with the exact same challenges with Chase. We now refer to this stage as the “sixth grade curse”.

In our house we refer to this as the sixth grade curse because as soon as the kids hit sixth grade no becomes their favorite word again and listening becomes optional. Along with that the back talking begins, the refusing to help, and the blatant disrespect. We all think that something is wrong with our child, but it is not; this is caused by our child’s development. You see our kids are growing faster than the brains can develop which causes these types of behaviors because they are unable to adapt to the growing body and mind. There development is telling them they are older, but they are not capable of dealing with all the changes. Will kids overcome this? Yes. And we have discovered things that word to help us all deal with the situation a little bit better.

The 6th Grade Curse-2

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Wandering Wednesday

#WanderingWednesday #6

Michele

Wandering Wednesday-2

Holy Cow! Who loved #WanderingWednesday last week? I had so much fun looking at all the great posts and meeting so many new bloggers! What was your favorite?

This week is so fun for us at Confessions of Parenting because we are sneaking up on 500 likes on Facebook! When we hit 500 likes you can guarantee that we will have a party to celebrate! So be sure to go like our page so you won’t be left out!

This Week’s Featured Post is:

The Questions I Ask My Kids Every Night and Why April, from Mojitos & Munchkin. April is a proud Iowan, who now lives in Minnesota with her hubby and their three cherubs. After nearly a decade teaching, she is on a break from the classroom and enjoying life as a work-from-home Mom. You can find her writing on Scary Mommy, Daily Mom, and her blog, Mojitos and Munchkins, that she uses as a creative outlet to escape the craziness that comes with life. She loves movies, cocktails, the color purple, homemade spaghetti sauce, day dates and sunny afternoons. She thinks the world would be a better place without temper tantrums, soup, the color navy, temperatures that dip below 20 degrees, and the distance between people she loves. Her insomnia allows her to pin things that she may (or may not ever) try. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

I love the 3 questions she asks her kids everyday! They are

  • Who did you play with on the playground today?
  • What did you talk about at lunch today?
  • What was the bravest thing you did today?

to read more head to her blog!

So without Further ado Let’s Party!

Click here to Wander with us through some great Posts! (Add your link below)

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Mom Life, My Life

Finding the Perfect Balance

Michele

 

Finding the Perfect BalanceDo ever feel like you are the tug of war rope being pulled every which way trying tomake everyone happy? Do you struggle finding a balance between kids, your spouse, volunteering, cleaning, and time just for you? If you are like me you can’t even make it to the bathroom by yourself and you walk around with half painted toe nails because you don’t have an extra 5 minutes.

As moms we naturally put EVERYONE and EVERYTHING before anything we do for ourselves. And let’s be honest there are not enough hours in a day to get everything done, so we go without taking care of needs or desires. Can I just tell you how many days I have gone without a shower because I just didn’t have time? Ok… So maybe I won’t tell you… 🙂 Getting time each day, even if it is 5 minutes,  for ourselves is a must to escape mom funk! But how do we do find this time when we already feel pulled a million different directions? We learn to balance our time a little differently.

Continue reading “Finding the Perfect Balance” →

Sunshine in My Soul

There is Sunshine in My Soul #5

Michele

There is sunshine in my soul

This week I have had the opportunity to reflect about life. As we celebrated another birthday this week I realize just how quickly time flies by. As we were celebrating this special day I got word that one of my friend’s sons had passed away at age 14. As I got this news tears streamed down my face for how my friend’s family must feel, but then I read their message of how thankful they are that they will see their son again. What faith that they have in the eternal plan of our Heavenly Father. I have no idea what they are going through, but I can only imagine the pain and sadness they must feel without one of their children on this Earth anymore. I know you probably don’t know them, but please quietly say a prayer for them and all the parents that have lost children way too soon in this life. Let us all hug our children a little more today and be a little more grateful that they are pulling on our apron strings wanting up when we are trying to get something done.

Today I share with you what keeps me going on days like today.

Continue reading “There is Sunshine in My Soul #5” →

Kids, Mom Life, My Life, parenting

What My 2 Year Old Has Taught Me… So Far

Michele

As a toddler mom again after 11 years I feel like I have been blessed with learning things a little quicker this time around. Maybe it’s because I have had prior experience, or perhaps it is because I am a little older and a little wiser. We will just dwell on the wiser part ;). But regardless I feel like I have learned to do things better, had more patience, shown more love, enjoyed the moments more rather than stressed about the small things, and learned to live in the moment rather than let the moment pass me by. Today I am sharing with you the 10 things my 2-year old has taught me… so far

What My 2 Year Old Has Taught Me... So Far

What My 2 Year Old Has Taught Me… So Far

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Wandering Wednesday

Wandering Wednesday #5

Michele

Wandering Wednesday-2It’s birthday week again in our house so of course preparations are underway getting birthday presents and making cakes!! We have a rule that you can either get a big present or have a party… Both boys chose big presents this year, Colby his mitt and Chase wants a Fitbit…. I guess we will see if he gets one tomorrow! Do your kids have Fitbits? Do you have birthday rules like making them choose between a big present or a party? When do you let your kids start having parties? Add your thoughts to the comments!

It’s Wednesday! Which means it’s Link Up day! Didn’t you love all the posts last week? Which ones were your favorites?

This Week’s Featured Post is:

Easy DIY Halloween Costumes: BumbleBee from Flossie over at SuperMom hacks! Flossie claims she’s not a Supermom, but that is still up in the air :), from what I know so far she’s pretty amazing! She is a mom of two and has figured out a  few tips, tricks, and hacks along the way – things that have helped to make this crazy adventure called parenthood a little easier.

Over the past month I have really gotten to know Flossie and she is a great blogger and becoming one of my blogging friends! Be sure to go check out her totally doable Halloween Costume Post!

So without Further ado Let’s Party!

Click here to Wander with us through some great Posts! (Add your link below)

Continue reading “Wandering Wednesday #5” →

Mom Life, My Life

Planning With a Purpose

Michele

Planning with a PurposeAs much as we would love to tell ourselves that we don’t need a plan, but in all actuality  we do! This plan helps us to stay on track and helps us fulfil our purpose. It also allows us to get more things done each day.

At the beginning of each day I reflect for a few moments on what I want to accomplish that day. It might be as simple as take Talie to the park to play or as difficult as get the shed painted! By coming up with what I need to do and what I want to accomplish allows me to go through the proper steps to make this happen through a plan.

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Uncategorized

There is Sunshine in My Soul #4

Michele

There is sunshine in my soul

Octobers are so busy for us here and they always seem to fly by. This October is no different! With Colby’s 13th birthday yesterday and Chase turning 11 next week it is crazy here! Throw in football games and baseball and I am running around with my head cut off.. It makes me think of Trace Adkins song, “You’re Gonna Miss This”

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Mom Life, My Life, Product Review

Fall is Here! What are you Wearing?

Michele

Fall is here and if you are like me you are searching your closet desperately for something to wear! Some of us are lucky and find exactly what we are looking for, others like me, run into the problem of clothes that don’t fit, others that are stained, and some that are just plain worn out! When this occurs, I have visions of replacing everything with a brand new wardrobe, but reality then sets in as I realize I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on clothes each season.

Online #Secondhandfirst

In recent years, a new trend has hit the internet which is secondhand clothing sites. I will be honest that I have always been 100% a skeptic when it comes to buying second hand clothes, especially online! This fall I teamed up with ThredUP! To see what all the hype was about when it comes to #secondhandfirst to see if the quality and wear was how they stated it was online, and to see if I could really save up to 90% off regular prices!

History of ThredUP!

In 2008 the vision of ThredUP! Was born when co founder James Reinhart had nothing to wear. In 2009 it became a pilot program with the online sharing of men’s shirts and has now turned into the largest online marketplace to buy and sell women’s and kids’ second hand clothes.

Shopping Experience

I put my shopping skills to the ultimate test as I embarked on an adventure on the ThredUP! Website to find some new looks for this fall season! ThredUP prides themselves on triple checking items for signs of wear such as fading, pilling and stains. They also ensure that the zippers are all working and there are no missing buttons. Lastly, they pride themselves on the fact that you will be able to find in-season, on-trend styles from some of your favorite brands!

With that in mind, I headed to the jeans section of their website and searched from Joe Jeans as well as Paige Denim, my two favorite jean brands. Continue reading “Fall is Here! What are you Wearing?” →