Category Archives: Mommy Daze

Thinks That Sparkle

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 “Mommy, here’s a shiny one.” Sarah, my four year old, hands me a little silver speckled white rock from one hand while tossing the rock from the other into the river. “Mommy. That one’s not for throwing..it’s for you to keep.”
I held the rock out until the sun’s light made it look like I was holding a diamond. Then I put it safely in my pocket. Made me think? What gives a stone it’s worth? And why is that we love things that sparkle?
Last night, as we took a night hike around our North Mills campsite in North Carolina,  billions of stars dotted the moonless sky. Sarah, gripping tightly to her daddy’s hand, looked up and said, “Ooooh! The sky is too sparkly!”
“Do you like it?” Wasn’t sure why she chose the word too?
“Yes!” Must be a four year old thing. 

The Worth of A Seed

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I own four indoor plants. Two are the ever hardy, never-say-die, heart-leaf philodendron plants. I grew up calling this a money plant. The other two are a plant my daughter brought home on a field trip and a tiny little thing my daughter’s teacher gave me for Christmas in 2010. The bad news is I’m a negligent parent when it comes to my green babies. The good news is, these babes are the ultimate low maintenance kids, and I strategically have three of them near my kitchen sink. When I wash dishes, if I see a frown on one of my green girls, I swoop a cup of sink rain over her drooping branches and pray for a miracle. That it wasn’t too late. And between the sunshine that beams through my kitchen window and the just in the nick of time thirst quenchers, my plants are still alive! 

I know it might sound cliche, but it never ceases to amaze me what can spring up and grow from the humble beginnings of a teeny-tiny seed. Continue reading →

Home Remedies That You Actually Find at Home

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I’ll admit from the get-go—I’m no Martha Stewart, but I do have a home remedy or two in my back pocket that has saved me in a pinch. I learned most of these from my sister-in-law and her mom who have a long list of tried and tested homemade solutions for just about anything. I racked my brain for my top ten, then realized I could only think of five. That just goes to prove that I won’t be writing an Encyclopedic volume on this topic, but I think I can manage one little blog post. So here goes: Continue reading →

Tooth Fairy Blues

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 Six years, two months, and thirteen days ago, I should have been fired. From the Tooth Fairy Corporation. In a nutshell, the Teeth business should have done their homework and checked my references before plunging me into the field. Or mouth. Of it all. 
My rapid decline began one winter morning when the sun rose after the rooster. For the record, we don’t live on a farm. At the time, my girls’ alarm clock woke them up with a goofy voice yelling, “Get up! Time to get up! Get out of bed already!” and this particular voice sounded roosterish with his trill on every vowel. You had to hear it to believe it. 

Anyway, this particular morning marked the first dawn of our first lost tooth. My firstborn had carefully tucked her tiny little white tooth under her pillow the night before. Mom of the year forgot. When tear-filled Bubbles knocked on my bedroom door, I knew before she told me. I forgot the money.…
 Continue reading →

Confessions of a Kindergarten Mom

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[Winter 2006]

Forgot to put my daughter’s snack in her book bag. Got a call from Mrs. Stone who politely asked, “Hi Mrs. Paulus. How are you? Just wanted to know what you were thinking you wanted to do for Hannah’s snack today?”

Found myself falling…down, down, down from the height of “Hard-working Mom” to the depths of “Irresponsible Parent”. I hate this fall. If you’re anything like me, you’re a lot harder on yourself than the person you’ve bumped in this crowded line of life. I feel myself taking a nose-dive into disappointment with taunting words poking me on the decline: “I can’t believe I forgot my daughter’s snack? What kind of mom am I anyway? She was probably so stressed out when she opened up her backpack and turned it up-side-down looking for her snack. Sheesh.”

When Hannah gets off the bus, I ask her vaguely, “How was your day Bubbles?” 

“Goooood.”

I pry a little, “Anything hard? Anything go wrong today?”

She looks at me with a “I wonder if you know this already” look, and says, “Well, one thing. I couldn’t find my snack when I got to school.” Continue reading →