From the hosts

The Blog.

Page 25 of 26.

Parenting Aug 4, 2010

What Holds You Back as a Mom?

Are you the mom you want to be? In this video, Lauren Dungy and I talk about the challenges that hold us back as mothers.

Read post →

Parenting Aug 1, 2010

Gossip Girls

It bothers me and deeply offends me when I hear that someone has talked about me behind my back. But I must confess that I’ve been a part of plenty of those conversations, too. You know the drill, one minute you’re sipping coffee talking about kids, and the next minute, you’re slamming a mutual frie

Read post →

Parenting Jul 29, 2010

Mind the Gaps

My daughter’s godparent is an avid “Facebook-er” and since I’m not, I’ve asked him to keep an eye on what my kids post on their walls. Well, just a few days ago my daughter put some summertime fun pictures of herself in a bathing suit on Facebook—an absolute no-no in our house, no matter how innocen

Read post →

Parenting Jul 27, 2010

Tebow Inspiration

One of the most powerful things we can do as Moms is to inspire our children to greatness. Pam Tebow, the mom of NFL quarterback, and college football great Tim Tebow, used these words to shape the way Tim lives by hanging this in his room. Little Eyes Are Watching You There are little eyes upon you

Read post →

Parenting Jul 25, 2010

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

When your first child was born, you studied the rise and fall of their chest while they were sleeping, certain that at any moment this beautiful and perfectly healthy child would suddenly stop breathing. Now that my kids are older, and especially as I’ve watched them head off to college, I often loo

Read post →

Parenting Jul 20, 2010

Is it Crazy To Let Your Kids Drink?

I recently overheard this conversation, “Oh, my kids drink, they all do you know, but mine only drink at home so I know they are safe. I take everyone’s keys, including their friends, and I don’t let them leave until the morning.” Is letting your teenager drink ever safe? Is it ever safe to break th

Read post →

Parenting Jul 18, 2010

Discipline Basics

What’s in your discipline arsenal? Do you use rewards or motivators with your kids? Do you sometimes resort to bribes to get them to behave? In this video I talk with my friend, Jan, about the discipline basics that work in raising kids.

Read post →

Parenting Jul 14, 2010

Princess and the Pee…

…(or in this case Pee-Pee) When I was potty-training my kids, they didn’t have light-up, musical, transforming, or animal shaped potties. They may have come in different colors, but that was about the extent of it. Recently, a friend of mine entered into the potty-training phase with her child. Afte

Read post →

Encouragement Jul 12, 2010

Are You Happy?

Unhappiness can often be linked to unmet expectations; we expect our husband, marriage or children to be a certain way, and when they’re not, we become disappointed. My friend Jan and I , share our experience with unmet expectations, and how we learned to live, and thrive, in spite of them.

Read post →

Marriage Jul 7, 2010

I’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.

But I’m going to find it. This is not the first time it’s been lost, we have both lost it from time to time. This time I lost it. I am sure I just misplaced it. It has got to be here somewhere between that college paperwork, sport schedules and report cards. I have excuses for losing it. It’s been s

Read post →

Parenting Jul 4, 2010

Perspective

Yesterday, in the midst of a whiny mood about the business of my life, I opened this email from a friend. My mood melted away in shame as I read about the reality of her unexpected guest – cancer. Please read and soak up Lisa Hayes’ wisdom and perspective. Here we are finally at the end. It’s differ

Read post →

Encouragement Jul 3, 2010

Happy 4th of July!

It’s week 4 of iMOM Operation Summer and we are loving it! My family just finished the 4th of July Trivia Flag Cake Game. My husband won the game, but I won with the cake! Check out iMOM Operation Summer! This game was from Mission 4.

Read post →

Parenting Jun 30, 2010

Mothering……Different Children

iMOM Ambassador, Lauren Dungy, shares her take on how to effectively discipline children.

Read post →

Marriage Jun 28, 2010

Still Holding Hands

I’ve always held my husband’s hand (well almost always, except when I am mad at him). It is just a habit that I did not consciously plan. I do it because I love him. But after a recent conversation with my grown daughter I discovered that holding hands is an accidental habit that has far reaching be

Read post →

Parenting Jun 27, 2010

Role Playing

Role playing is a great way to help children learn and understand, especially when it comes to learning how to better get along with others at home. Recently my husband Mark and I used role playing at our house with one of our sons. Here’s how it went down…

Read post →

Parenting Jun 23, 2010

No, no – It’s Dangerous!

It’s hot! It’s sharp! It’s poisonous! It’s dangerous! It was so easy when they were little. But the older my kids get, dangerous gets a little more ambiguous. Can music be dangerous? Movies? A computer? Yes, yes and yes! It takes a lot of monitoring—and I am just not a detail person. Then I heard th

Read post →

Parenting Jun 15, 2010

Thoughts Through Tears

G raduation means you’re ready and going away. R eally, I would much rather that you choose to stay. A ll eighteen years have skipped by me so fast. D o you remember the times I treasure from the past? U are beautiful, accomplished and amazingly wise… A s you walk, this thought dawned on me with suc

Read post →

Marriage Jun 10, 2010

Honeymoon Disaster

I thought you would enjoy this story from my friend Lauren Dungy…. What do you remember most about your wedding day? Do the things that went wrong still bring the biggest smiles even now? Did everything go perfectly? Or are the things that didn’t go just right the very things you remember most, and

Read post →

Parenting Jun 8, 2010

Raising a Cinderella

Cinderella… she was ever hopeful, beautiful, and selfless. She was kind and generous. In stark contrast to Cinderella, her step-sisters were callous, selfish, and lazy. In today’s world, they’d probably have their own credit cards – without a spending limit, use social media as a means for cyber-bul

Read post →

Parenting Jun 6, 2010

What I Should have Taught My Daughter: Part 2

When she has a Fender Bender Last night I answered my phone and heard nothing but sobs – I hate those calls. It was my daughter and after what seemed like minutes (but was really seconds) I heard, “Mom, I just got in an accident.” Here’s the story: My daughter went to the mall and parked in the park

Read post →

Encouragement May 25, 2010

Music… For Good

At iMOM.com (I work for iMOM) we have a music monitor because, well, there is a lot of bad music out there for kids. And moms need to know about it. So here is a really good music story. It is the story about how music can be used “For Good.” Julia is a senior, and as a 4-year chorus member at Plant

Read post →

Parenting May 24, 2010

What I Should Have Taught My Daughter:Part 1

When Someone Asks Her Out on A Date It was Friday night, football game. There was a big game that night. I arrived a little late so my daughter went ahead of me. As I round the corner of the concession stand, a group of my friends animatedly grab me and say, ” Susan, where’s _____ (insert name of an

Read post →

Parenting May 19, 2010

How Much Love

I read this quote, and it was convicting and liberating at the same time… “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing.” Mother Teresa Convicting – because I don’t know that in my multi-tasking madness I put enough love into what I am doing. Liberating – because I can’t do it all

Read post →

Parenting Jun 21, 2009

Defense Against Disrespect

Every child is disrespectful at some point in their life. In our house it happens more than I would like. Mark and I share our thoughts on the best defense for disrespect.

Read post →