parenting
Why We Won’t Let a Village Raise Our Kids
Earlier this week MSNBC released the following Lean Forward promo : Did you catch that? Here is what she said: We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and recognize that kids belong to whole communities. Once it’s everybody’s responsibility, and not just the households’, then we start making better investments. Say what?!! When did it become someone else’s responsibility to raise my kids? This clip terrifies me because I see the ramifications of it everywhere I look, not just in the world at large, but in my own community, my own church, myself. I see ... read more
How I Get My Kids to Clean Their Room
I haven’t talked about it much but for the past year or so an epic struggle has been waging in the Soukup household. It is Mommy versus Kids in the War of the Tidy Room, and while there are still small battles being fought now and then, I can finally say with confidence that I am winning. I am not exaggerating when I tell you it has been a long and arduous and, at times, downright painful campaign. It has involved tears, threats, bribes, rewards, games, countless trips to the naughty stool, and more reorganizing, reevaluating, relabeling, and retraining than I would care to admit. At one point it even ... read more
And Then I Realized I Was Doing It All Wrong… {Lessons in Homeschooling}
Last spring, as I prepared to take on this crazy adventure called homeschooling, I read countless books and articles and websites, most of them helpful, a few of them scary, but almost all containing phrases like this: Every homeschool family is unique. You’ll start out doing one thing and end up someplace completely different. You won’t know what works until you start. What works for other families won’t necessarily work for you. Or something to that effect. Blah. Blah. Blah. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe the books or even that I thought I had it all figured out. But after reading extensively about all the different methods of homeschool ... read more
All The Things I’m Thankful For {Printable Gratitude Journal}
The girls and I have spent a lot of time this month talking about having an “attitude of gratitude” and what it means to be thankful for all that we have. Honestly there are many times a day when it seems like they just don’t get it and I frequently wonder if I am expecting to much of them. After all, it has taken me 34 years, and I am still learning. Is it unreasonable to want my 3 and 6 year old to be able to see beyond their own wants and needs? Perhaps, but I keep at it anyway. Because I know that even if they don’t get it ... read more
What I Won’t Give My Kids For Christmas This Year
A couple of months ago I wrote about taking all my kids’ toys away, and how that experience has fundamentally changed our family and the way we look at stuff. The response from that post–both positive and negative–was completely overwhelming, like nothing I have every experienced before while writing this blog. Who knew I could be so controversial? While the vast majority of readers applauded the decision and a few even said they were inspired to follow suit, there were also many others who passionately disagreed. They argued that I wasn’t teaching my kids any personal responsibility, that I was taking away their childhoods, that they would probably become hoarders, ... read more
Why I took my kids’ toys away {& why they won’t get them back}
If you follow Project Simplify 365, you already know that I’ve been on a mission this year to simplify my family’s life and rid ourselves of excess. Over the course of this past year I have probably given away about 75 percent of their toys, keeping only the items that I felt encouraged their imagination and that they actually played with. I thought I was doing pretty good. Even so, there were warning signs that my kids still had too much stuff. In June, we took a field trip to Reptile World in Orlando. Afterwards we decided it would be fun to take the girls to dinner at a dinosaur-themed ... read more
Tender Spirits {Why We Homeschool}
It is often in our failures that we learn the biggest lessons; the same holds true for parenting. Several weeks ago, on the final leg of our summer road trip, I had an epic mom fail. We still had 4 hours to go and I was tired and crabby and ready to be out of the car. I don’t even remember now what it was that set me off, whether it was the girls bickering or complaining that I wasn’t changing the DVD fast enough or spilling food or asking for the billionth time when we were going to get there, but I lost it. I got angry and I ... read more
Let’s Not Be Mean Girls {How Not to Be a Bully}
This past weekend my daughters were playing with a few of their friends. All seemed fine until out of the blue, right in front of me, Princess and another girl banded together against a younger girl and sassily told her she acts like a baby and they weren’t going to be friends with her anymore. The younger girl, predictably, burst into tears and ran sobbing to her mom, while the 2 older girls and I had a serious talk about how we treat our friends and what it means to be a bully. But I was shaken. My daughter, a bully? Are the days of innocence over already? This ... read more
Daddy’s Girl
There is no getting around it: Princess is a Daddy’s Girl. It occurred to me this morning, as they skipped down the sidewalk together, that I have lost her completely. I think I probably knew it already. It was crystal clear a few days ago during this conversation: “Mommy, I’m making a picture for Daddy and you can’t see it.” “Why can’t I see it?” ”Because it is a secret, and it is only for Daddy.” “Why is it only for Daddy?” “Because I love Daddy!” “Well don’t you love Mommy too?” “Yes, but I love Daddy more.” Ah, nothing like brutal honesty from a five-year-old to keep you humble. ... read more
Giving & Getting: Teaching My Kids The True Spirit of Christmas
I don’t know about you, but with Christmas less than a week away and a very generous Auntie en route to spend the holidays spoiling my kids (not to mention a Mommy who is a pro at finding great deals), I am starting to get nervous about all the STUFF that is about to enter my home. I love my kids more than anything, and I want their Christmas to be filled with wonder and joy, but I have to admit that I am worried about the message that this influx of things will send to two girls who already have more than enough. A few things have happened over the ... read more
5 Things I Wish I Would’ve Known When I Was 18
My adorable–er, I mean super handsome and very manly–nephew Jacob graduated from high school last night. It seems so crazy to me that the sweet little boy I used to babysit is now ready to head off to college. As he begins this new phase of his life–adulthood–I couldn’t help but reflect on the time when I was that age and wish that I had only known then what I know now. Jacob, I know most of this advice will probably go in one ear and out the other, but I decided to write it down anyway. 5 things I wish I would’ve known when I was 18 1. You ... read more
5 Tips for Raising Children You Like {Edie @ Life{in}Grace}
Beginning today, I am officially on vacation for 3 whole weeks. I love writing this blog but I am also very excited to take a break and spend some long-overdue quality time with my friends and family in the Seattle area. We will be spending almost 2 weeks in Washington State and then Husband and I are taking our first-ever kid-free vacation, a week-long Alaskan cruise. I’m practically giddy. Three weeks is a long time to be away, so I thought it would be fun to do something new while I was gone and bring in some of my favorite bloggers to share some fabulous guest posts. I’ll still be ... read more
