bluegrass redhead
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Flashback Friday: Youthful Politics

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Welcome to Flashback Friday, where I delve deep into the piles of my childhood memorabilia so that we can reminisce, laugh at the bad perms, and finally prove that merely throwing away your NKOTB door hanging does not diminish your love for Jordan Knight.

Listen, people. This is not all fun and games and Lisa Frank. It’s time for me to share some darker aspects of my past. I wasn’t always the super-gorgeous, super-smart, super-liberal (and super-humble!) redhead you see now before you.

In fact, the entirety of my childhood and adolescent years I was a Bible-beating, super-judgmental, conservative.

In defense of the summer list

One of my favorite people (and bloggers) Meagan Francis recently wrote a post defending the simple pleasures of summer and explaining why a summer list isn’t the right fit for her family.

But when you think about it, summer break is really pretty short. Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to fill so little time with so much activity?... a neatly checked-off “summer bucket list” isn’t a requirement of being a good mom.

On the one hand, I agree. Of course, one doesn’t need a summer list to have a season filled with sunshine and happy memories.

However...

I have a summer list and I love it.

The Secret to Independent Play

Most mornings my boys play together in their room for an hour and a half to two hours. After we have breakfast, I send them back to play and I have one to two blissful hours to get things done.

Now, Griffin and Amos are only four and two. I still get the occasional question or request BUT, for the most part, I can depend on that time to get work done or projects completed around the house.

How do I do it?

The answer is so simple it’s going to shock you.

My journey to a goodnight's sleep

As a parent, you learn quickly that there are certain topics that are universal. Whether you've known the mommy next to you for five minutes or five years, there are subjects we all use to relate to one another: how long ago we saw a movie in an actual movie theater, the latest and most disgusting experience with bodily fluids, and - perhaps the most popular of all - sleep deprivation.

I learned early on that I don't always have the response my fellow parents want to hear.

"Really? Griffin sleeps about 13 hours a night."

(Insert the sound of crickets.)

Flashback Friday: All About Us

Tomorrow my husband and I will celebrate our ten year anniversary. Surrounded by our nearest and dearest, we plan to renew our vows in the front yard and then party late into the night in our back yard.

When I look back now, I realize marriage really intimidated me. I was a child of divorce. Even though my mother had remarried and her and my stepfather had (and still have) a great relationship, I was worried. I knew I loved Nicholas. I knew I was ready to be in a committed relationship but, in a way marriage seemed like a roll of the dice.

How could I stack the odds in my favor?

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