Good Shoes are Not a Crock

Thank you to Crocs for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Crocs’ new Back to School line. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.




 Back in May I dragged the girls to a shoe store to get some shoes that could get us through the summer.

My goal was one pair of shoes each, somewhat tough, somewhat durable, definitely comfortable, and overall cheap, because I knew they'd be trashing them in no time.

We left with two pairs each. One fancy and totally non-functional and one pair of what I thought were brilliant no-lace sneakers.

I ended up ruing those shoes all summer long.

Little L's were fine because we got them on the small side.

C's were a nightmare. Too big, didn't stay on her foot, and caused me to spend the whole summer wondering when she'd finally fall down and break her foot.

Today. That's when.

This very morning I was making mental plans to take the girls shopping for "real" shoes so they'd have good, sturdy, reliable footwear for the school year. Not four hours later we were at the hospital having her foot x-rayed.

It's a bad joke really.

I've procrastinated on every part of our back-to-school shopping. I'm paying extra to rush ship C's backpack. I had to riffle through the last of the Target school supplies to finish off our class list. And now C's paying even more for my slacker attitude about back-to-school clothes and shoe shopping.

Poor kid... now she has to do it all on crutches.

One of the reasons I was dragging my feet on this particular shopping excursion is that shopping for shoes is always more challenging than it is fun. The girls always want something cute, fun, or just plain comfy. I'm always angle for something sensible that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

This Fall I might have found something that will fit all of our criteria. The new line of Crocs go way beyond their original slip-ons and even feature some adorable sneakers that I can't wait to get my hands on. And now? 13 designs are school approved, so not even the strictest teacher can keep your feet from having fun!

Crocs knows that it's not just toes that want to give up their freedom, so they're trying to make this back to school season a tad more fun by giving you a chance to win a trip so you can really extend summer into autumn.

And if you want to have fun while discovering the new line, check them all out in this video. Stay alert! The video is interactive. Click on shoes you like to be taken to the site and keep your eyes peeled for this little "easter egg." Click on it for a surprise!

We'll go shoe shopping when C's foot is all better and she can enjoy the experience and I'll try to not feel too guilty about having slacked on my shopping duties.

Back-to-School Jitters: A Fill the Backpack '11 post

C goes to a school that has 60 students.

60 kids from pre-K to 8th grade.

Yes. That's it. It's a small school. 

You'd think with those numbers, and knowing that she's been there a year, already knows her teacher well, knows the school very well, and already knows 99% of her incoming classmates, that her first day next week would pose no anxiety at all.

But she's my C. My anxious C, so of course she's not so sure about the whole thing at all.

We've had to discuss the boy who wasn't so nice last year. We talked about how kids often mature over the summer. We remembered that at the end of the year they were pretty much friends.

We've had to discuss how having actual desks isn't really all that different from having tables.

We've had to chat about how it'll be different now that the Kindergarten teacher has left the school, but how it'll be a lot the same thanks to the other teachers.

We've even had to think about what people mean when they say that "1st grade is so much harder than Kindergarten."

And then this morning she told me what was really bothering her.

After a summer packed with family time - long weekends, trips, lazy weekend mornings - next week we go back to our routine. And last year that routine was grueling.

We ended the year on a really low note. Hospital visits, sick daddy, much stress on everyone's shoulders. The summer hasn't been all roses and kittens, but at least we got to spend a lot of quality time together.

What C doesn't know is that I changed my work schedule on purpose so that she wouldn't be in after care until 6 every day any more. It won't be an every day thing, but I'm really hopping that I can pick her up at 3 at least twice a week. I think it'll make a world of difference to all of us.

If anything it'll give us time for a few more Family Love Dinners. And who couldn't use a little more love in their days?

Welcome to Fill the Backpack '11, a Splash Creative Media campaign co-hosted by 8 amazing bloggers. For a month we're going to be talking about all things back-to-school related. (Well, the other 7 started last week. I'm a slacker.) If you missed it, check out the giveaway of the year - $750 worth of awesome back-to-school goodies to make your year sweeter.


Want to check out other Fill the Backpack posts? Visit the Splash Creative Media bloggers. They'll be thrilled to have you!

• TechSavvyMama by Leticia Barr @TechSavvyMama
• Guessing All the Way by Laurie Cooper, @CluelessMama
• Formerly Gracie by Grace Duffy, @GraceDuffy
• Savvy Sassy Moms by Andrea Fellman, @SavvySassyMoms
• Just Precious by Julie Meyers Pron, @JustPrecious
• Sassy Moms in the City by Alison Ray @SassyMomChicago
• It’s My Life by Jessica Rosenberg, @Kikarose
• The Centsible Life by Kelly Whalen, @CentsibleLife

Finding My Mom Style

I've mentioned it before, fashion and I are not friends. I've always wanted to be cute and classy, but when I walk into a store I'm like a deer in headlights and I never know what to get.

If you look in my closet you will find 15 variations of the same outfit. If it worked once in one color, no reason it can't work again!

Knowing this and knowing that I had to shine at my speaking session at BlogHer, I put myself into the trusty hands of the Moms Fashion File team. If anyone could help me, it was definitely going to be them.

And help me they did.

First of all, they set my mind at ease about my own sense of style. Part of the magical transformation involved two full outfits generously donated by Ann Taylor LOFT. One of the skirts picked out for me by Nicole was the skirt I had just bought the week before and was actually wearing when I walked in to be made over. Score one for me!

Jessica Before

Then they showed me what was wrong with my style.... Uh... that would be the rest.

OK, I jest. All it seems I'm actually missing is the accessories. Cute jackets, fun necklaces, bracelets, belts, nice purse... the works! Allison from Petit Elefant coached me on putting it all together! Score a million for MFF!

Jessica After

Oh, right, you noticed that there's more to it than just the clothes and accessories?

I begged the stylists from Detour Salon (there thanks to Plum District) to come home with me so they could make me look fabulous every day, but they said they couldn't move to Nor Cal. I would have begged Tia Dantzler to also come home with me so she could do my make-up all the time, but I could get over the fact that she's done Barak Obama's make-up twice to get the words out. Instead I just tried to take mental notes about what she was doing and preened when she said that I had a "good eyeshadow base." (Whatever that means...) I also drank in all her Johnson's Baby make-up tips.

When I left, a mere two hours after arriving in the Moms Fashion File Secret Style Suite, I felt like a more confident version of myself. Having a ton of people stop me in the hall to gush about how great I looked didn't hurt either. (Rumor has it that people were saying I looked like Jackie O. Greatest compliment ever!)

As the day went on though, I found that I was missing who I really was - the curly haired, slightly less put together version of the polished result of 2 hours of styling. Some friends whispered to me that they liked my usual look better too. (One person posted to her FB wall that she'd met three Jessica Rosenbergs at BlogHer. I had to break it to her that she met me three times... oy.)

The hair has come down, the nail polish is long gone, but I'm taking from the whole experience two simple facts. I'm not as style-less as I thought I was. And it doesn't take a whole lot to take my usual look to the next level.

Mornings now involve a tiny bit more attention to my accessories. I change up my jewelry and pick my shoes more carefully. And when I leave the house I feel a bit more confident.

Because clearly I needed help with that.

Strutting the catwalk.

Thank you to Moms Fashion File for allowing me to partake in such an amazing event. Thank you to the fashion partners - Namaste Handbags, Scotch Naturals, LOFT, Kiyonna, Dr. Scholl's Shoes, BALI intimates, Lands End, Payless Shoes, Stella Dot and the Sponsors: Plum District, Ciao Bella Gelato, Johnson's, Stokke, Trop 50, Windows Phone - for making it possible! I'm loving all the gifts I took home and I'm using them all with pride!

All photos by Bella Diva Photo. For more from the event click here.

Almost Dry at Night

Last week I packed up the girls, our bathing suits, and a couple pairs of shorts for each of us and we headed across the country to spend the week with my sister in Chicago. Next to the shorts, t-shirts and other warm weather things in their suitcase, I tucked seven GoodNites®, one for each night we'd be there.

 

“If you wake up dry every morning we're in Chicago, when we come home, we can give all the diapers that are still at home to a baby who needs them.”

 

Little L nodded emphatically, her determination written all over her face.

 

I wasn't surprised. Three weeks ago Little L finally started showing some interest in trying to be dry at night. In the morning she wakes up and checks her own diaper. Her glee when it's dry brings a smile to my face. The thought of finally being diaper free keeps it there.

 

Her first night in Chicago she woke up dry. It was her third day in a row.

 

“Only four more nights mommy!” She crowed, reminding me that even before our trip I'd been telling her that she just had to be dry seven nights for me to allow her to give up her diapers. Clearly she was determined to make that happen while we were at her cousins' house.

 

Then it was five nights. Six... and then... on the seventh... she woke up wet. Really, really wet.

 

Ditto on the eighth.

 

I played it off as no big deal, because really it isn't one. She'll be dry at night when she's good and ready. Bedwetting will soon be a thing of the past for us.

 

She played it off as no big deal, but I could tell she was upset. She had tried so hard to reach this goal. She'd been so proud every morning, counting off the nights for me. I pulled her into bed with me and cuddled her tight.

 

We talked for a moment about the day we were going to have and then I asked her quietly if she was upset. She simply nodded.

 

“You know I love you no matter what, right? You'll get this. It's going to be ok. Your body just isn't quite ready just yet. It needs to get a bit bigger and a bit better at keeping the pipi inside, that's all. We can try again tonight.”

 

She nodded again, then shrugged, burden lifted. Another minute of snuggling and she was struggling to get down, anxious to start her day.

 

She was dry again last night and I'm hopeful she'll be dry again tomorrow, but I'm not deluding myself. It's a process. For some it's a short one, for others it takes longer. As long as she knows I'm never going to be mad about how long it takes I'll be happy with how it goes.

 

This post is part of a series of posts sponsored and inspired by GoodNites®. Stay tuned as we share stories about bedwetting and discuss great products and tips to get you through the ups and downs of parenting preschoolers and nighttime accidents. In the meantime, check out the NiteLite™ Panel, hosted by GoodNites®, where professionals share more information about bedwetting.

I am a GoodNites® Blogger Ambassador and I am being compensated for this series of posts, but, as always, the stories, thoughts, and opinions featured in these posts are mine and mine alone.

It's always better in the morning

For the longest time I was a late night blogger.


I'd work all day - both as a mom and as an employee - and ponder my post for the day. Sometimes I'd take notes, sometimes I'd just file my thoughts away in my head, just waiting for that moment when the house would be settled and I could finally open my computer.

More often than not, by then the post would be stale and I wouldn't want to write it. Or worse, I would want to write it, but be completely unable to remember what it was I wanted to write.

My motivation to post late at night was fueled by my own blog reading habits. If I started my mornings with a fresh cup of tea and my favorite blogs, it stood to reason that others would do the same. Since I'm always three hours behind the rest of the country, by dint of being on the West coast, I always felt like I had to post before going to bed so the East coasters would have something to read in the morning.

My schedule changed and I relinquished some of my obsessions and poof... started writing in the morning, when my ideas were fresh and the words flowed fast and free. And a miracle happened.

Instead of struggling to come up with good posts, instead of fighting for inspiration and then hitting publish on stuff I thought was sub par, I started being really proud of my posts.

What had started to feel like a chose started to be fun again. What had felt like work started to feel like art again.

If you're a regular around these parts you might have noticed that I'm not posting nearly as much any more. But what I am posting is so much more me. So much more a part of my soul.

Late in the evening I'm often gripped in a frenzied "I should really post. It's been days and days." panic. I pop open the computer and stare at the screen, searching my brain for something, anything. I cycle through my day and my thoughts to see if I can come up with a nugget of something that could grow into a post.

And then I breathe, close the computer, and walk away.

It's always better in the morning.

Make Back To School a Bit Sweeter Giveaway - Fill The Backpack 2011

This week almost everyone in the Bay Area is packing up their backpacks and lunch boxes, anxiously awaiting class lists, and going for that one final swim before putting on their new school shoes and heading back to the classroom.

Of course, we're rebels, so instead I packed up the girls and flew them cross-country to spend a week with the cousins in Chicago. As our neighbors file into their classrooms we're going to make a beeline for the pool. Our schools don't start until the second week of September so we're not being all that rebellious, but still, it feels a little like playing hooky. A part of me also feels guilty that I'm missing the good back-to-school sales and I am a bit worried that there won't be any good backpacks when we get back. (Lucky for me the Internet never sleeps!)

But instead of worrying about that or panicking about the school supply list I totally ignored. I threw my energy into a Splash Creative Media campaign. Our team came up with Fill the Backpack last year. Now in our second year we’re doing it bigger and better! With an overstuffed Lands’ End backpack filled with goodies from companies like Eventbrite, LeapFrog, Mabel’s Labels, HP and more with a retail value of over $750! (No, really!)

Here’s how it works. Starting today we’re launching giveaways on 8 blogs (that means 8 chances to win!), and all month long you can enter, chat with us about back to school topics, learn about our awesome sponsors and join us for our twitter party Tuesday, September 6th at 9pm EST for even more chances to win!

Fill the Backpack benefits Communities in Schools

This isn’t just an ordinary giveaway though, it’s also a way for Splash Creative Media to give back. 10% of our net profits are going to our nonprofit beneficiary, Communities in Schools, a wonderful organization that surrounds students with a “community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.”

A donation to Communities In Schools is an investment in the future of our country. For approximately $200 per child per year, we are able to keep 97 percent of the young people we serve in school and on track to graduation.

You can find out more about Communities in Schools, donate, or learn how you can volunteer via their website, twitter and Facebook pages.

Fill the Backpack Giveaway includes:

• Eventbrite: $50 credit for Eventbrite events-great for school events and fundraisers.
• Leapfrog: LeapFrog’s Leapster Explorer ($69.99) provides handheld learning experiences in a portable device designed for ages 4-9. It serves as a mobile hub for downloadable Learning Apps that include eBooks, video, games, and flash cards that auto adjust during game play according to a child’s needs and skills and works with LeapFrog cartridges (prices vary).
• Sleep Innovations: Help your kids get proper rest, so they can study better Sleep Innovations REMedy Study Bundle set, twin XL, contains a 1 1/2 inch twin XL-size gel memory foam topper and gel memory foam pillow in a reusable zippered canvas bag. ($80)
• Etymotic: You'll receive an exciting new family product from Etymotic that will be released next month! You'll be among the first to own it! ($49 or $79)
• Snapfish:  A $50 gift card to Snapfish with tons of great ideas for back-to-school including photo skins for gear, personalized notebooks, and more!
• AVG: AVG 2012 ($54.99), internet security for the whole family.
• Mabels Labels: Labeling all the kids lunchboxes, water bottles, clothes and more is easy (and fun!) with Mabel's Labels ultimate back to school combo pack ($39) and a set of adorablebag tags ($21).
• Marble Jar: Looking for a way to help reinforce positive behavior for your family? The Marble Jar app for iPhone ($2.99) can help you and your kids stay motivated.
• ChicaLogic: ChicaLogic is a company that creates software for women, by women to keep your PC running smoothly. ChicaPC Shield ($29.95) and ChicaPC Fix ($29.95) work to scan your PC to find and remove threats caused by malware invasions and errors caused by regular use.
• Lands' End: You can't beat Lands' End backpacks for durability and quality for kids of all ages. We love that these come sized to fit toddlers-high schoolers. (prices vary)
• Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac ($150) or Microsoft Office 2010 for PC ($149.95) are packed with features that help you tackle every assignment, and work together on group projects-from almost anywhere.
• California Innovations: California Innovations eco-friendly lunchboxes are offered in a variety of colors, sizes, and even with your children's favorite Disney characters, making them a great alternative to paper bags.
• Stonyfield: From everyone's favorite organic yogurt company, we have a gift pack with coupons for YoKids, an activity book, and more! (approx value $15)
• Carolina Pad: Carolina Pad offers a fun back to school package featuring exceptional quality and design. You can find everything from binders to notebooks, planners to folders for back to school in their online store or at retailers nationwide. (prices vary)
• Scholastic: Literacy is the cornerstone of a child's growth, and for nearly 90 years Scholastic has created quality products and services that educate, entertain and motivate children and are designed to help enlarge their understanding of the world around them.(prices vary)
• P&G: P&G offers an Back to School box filled with tons of great products to help you and your family get back to school. Even better you can help kids stay in school by purchasing products using P&G's brandSAVER. (prices vary)
• Johnson’s & Johnson's: A back to school gift pack including Johnson's products including detangler (no more tears over hair brushing), hand and face wipes (perfect for classroom cleanup), and baby powder (for everything from the locker room to your shoes). For all those playground scrapes, and bumps they've also included Neosporin, and Mickey Mouse Band Aids."They work better together." (approx value $20)
• Playful Planet: Keep your kids healthy, and get some fun exercise in on rainy or cold day with the http://www.playfulplanet.com/ Storyland Yoga DVD. Your kids will love being a part of the story through these gentle yoga moves by Certified Children's Yoga Instructor, Ahmed Fahmy. ($15)

Enter to Win the Backpack!

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite back to school memory - regarding your own school days or your kids'!

Extra Entries: (please leave a comment for each additional entry)
Share the Fill the Backpack giveaway on twitter using #Backpack11. (tweet once per day and leave a comment for every tweet)

Follow @Splash_Creative and @FilltheBackpack on twitter (1 entry for each follow, leave one comment for each.)

For an extra 5 entries write a blog post about the Fill the Backpack campaign, Communities in Schools, or a back to school topic and include the following:

“Win a backpack from Splash Creative valued at over $750. I’m entering on It's my life..."

Enter on all the Splash sites!

The Splash Creative Media Fill the Backpack team consists of:

• TechSavvyMama by Leticia Barr @TechSavvyMama
• Guessing All the Way by Laurie Cooper, @CluelessMama
• Formerly Gracie by Grace Duffy, @GraceDuffy
• Savvy Sassy Moms by Andrea Fellman, @SavvySassyMoms
• Just Precious by Julie Meyers Pron, @JustPrecious
• Sassy Moms in the City by Alison Ray @SassyMomChicago
• It’s My Life by Jessica Rosenberg, @Kikarose
• The Centsible Life by Kelly Whalen, @CentsibleLife

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Splash Creative Media as part of the Fill the Backpack Campaign. 

Facing Big Issues with the Younger Set

I remember holding my infant for the first time and gazing down at her sweet, trusting, innocent little face and wishing that she'd never, ever have to know bullying, sadness, or any of the horrors that the world contains. I wished for a moment that the worst she'd ever know would be a mild hunger twinge as I prepared her bottle or a slightly damp tush as I hurried to get a clean diaper.

And then I remembered a boyfriend's mom who had been overly sheltered as a child and who was completely unable to handle all the world threw at her. I had felt nothing but pity for this woman who couldn't even handle changing a light-bulb or buying an answering machine without requiring the assistance of her entire family. (You think I'm kidding don't you?)

In my opinion offense being the best defense, I vowed to make my daughters strong and resourceful instead of overly sheltering them. While we don't actively set them up in challenging situations, we also don't rush to their rescue before coming to their aid, which is a much easier policy to uphold when dealing with putting on their own shoes or learning to wash their own hands than it is when facing really difficult issues.

As grown-ups we find it hard to see issues through a younger child's lens, so when C came home complaining of a boy who was being mean to her, I instantly jumped to a “the big bully needs to be dealt with” mama bear stance.

I listened to my gut though, and before coaching her on tattling to the teacher, setting up a meeting with the parents, and alerting the media, I paused.

“Why do you think he might be acting this way in school?” I asked her.

Her response floored me. She thought back to when she feels mean, and wondered out loud if maybe he was hungry or tired at the end of the day.

And then she offered to bring him a snack.

It was a tiny incident that amounted to nothing, but it taught me a valuable lesson. When the “big” issues come up, we tend to want to deal with them with our big adult answers because we see them through our big adult eyes. Kids don't always need the big answer, sometimes it pays to stop and see what level they're at before answering.

So, the answer to 'where do babies come from?” really can be “a mommy's tummy.” And the answer to “why do I still have to wear GoodNites at night?” might just be “because your body isn't ready to stop yet.” Issues don't have to be broached in their entirety in one sitting. The really big topics need to be covered in tiny morsels, so that they don't become a bigger deal than they need to be.


This post is part of a series of posts sponsored and inspired by GoodNites®. Stay tuned as we discuss great products and tips to get you through the ups and downs of parenting preschoolers and nighttime accidents. In the meantime, check out the NiteLite™ Panel, hosted  by GoodNites®, where professionals share more information about bedwetting.

I am a GoodNites® Blogger Ambassador and I am being compensated for this series of posts, but, as always, the stories, thoughts, and opinions featured in these posts are mine and mine alone.

Finding Peace in the Storm

I left for BlogHer with trepidation in my heart. My usual childcare provider was on vacation and I wasn't 100% comfortable with the back-up care I secured for Little L. She turned 4 on Monday and since that was the cut-off for camp... off to camp she went for the week.

To give both girls a break from the long camp days I arranged for our favorite sitter to come spend Thursday with them. Even so, I was sure I'd get a call pertaining to Little L on Friday.

Instead I got a call about C, on Thursday morning. Fever. Cold. Cough.

Ack.

Fever on Thursday means no camp on Friday, and I had no back-up. None.

I walked into the Women Create Media conference in a complete and utter tizzy. I texted all my close mom friends. I posted to my mother's group secret Facebook page. I emailed anyone I could think of.

"I need a sitter. Any sitter. She needs to be free from 7:30am to 5pm tomorrow. Please. I'm begging."

I hate asking for help, but I hate being in this limbo state even more.

I was eight hours away, my kid was sick, and there was nothing I could do about it.

To say that I had trouble concentrating is putting it lightly. I jumped at every text and facebook update. I obsessively checked my phone for emails. I racked my brain for names, people, anyone I could call.

After lunch the first and only nibble came through.

"I can't do it, but my almost 14yo daughter can."

Queue a whole new set of obsessive thoughts. I'd let a 13yo babysit my kids any evening. Evenings are easy. But could she handle a full day? Could she handle C with a fever? Could she handle it if Little L came down with the bug?

I waited another 30 minutes and finally called her mom. We talked. Realized that we know each other. Realized that she knows my girls. She promised she's stop by three times during the day. That she'd come make them lunch. She told me about her daughter's history with kids.

With some trepidation I agreed. It was 2pm. I was desperate. I needed a warm body to sit with the girls while they watched TV. That's what I was willing to settle for.

For the rest of the day I was jumpy and out of sorts. I can leave home at ease if I know all the plans have been laid out and that there are back-up plans in place. I can walk away and forget about the kids and about M if I know, in my heart, that they're fine.

On Thursday, I knew, in my heart, that they weren't.

And then Friday came. And it was worse.

The sitter arrived on time, after a bad night for both M and the kids. And.... he didn't think much of her.

"She's quiet... and uh... really quiet." He told me when I called to check-in. I could tell he wasn't a fan. That he was torn because he had to go to work. That he was at a loss.That he needed to just hand me the stress and go focus on work.

I called her mom, then I called her. And yes, she was quiet. And maybe a bit 13yo sullen. But she was there. She was coherent. She was there. And so I hung up and tried to focus on my day.

Everything went well. The kids were fine. The sitter was fine. It wasn't their best sitter experience... but it sure wasn't their worst.

I wasn't fine though. It did something to me, being away like that and unable to fix things to my satisfaction. It tore me up to have to go with the "at least she's a warm body" option. When I leave, I want M and the kids to have a great time so that when I leave next it won't be so hard on everyone.

I failed this time and all day I carried them around on my shoulders all through the San Diego Conference Center. M's pain and stress. C's fever and cough. Little L's disappointment at not going to camp. They were with me in sessions. They were with me as I met brand reps and tried to sell myself and my company. They were even with me as I cracked jokes and spoke to a packed room.

I came home drained and broken, desperate to pick up the pieces and put my family back on solid ground.


And then news of Jennie's husband brought me back to my knees.

Life has been beyond challenging this year. The blows just keep on coming. I routinely wonder how I'm going to keep doing it all. I actually thought that this past weekend would be my undoing.

And yet, miraculously, it hasn't. I just keep getting up, brushing away the tears, and keep going.

Today I know that this is the stuff that will eventually make us stronger, individually, as a couple, and as a family. On Friday I'll be joining a legion of friends who will also be baking Jennie's husband, Mikey's, favorite desert and serving it to their loved-ones as a grand, desert based celebration of a life cut short way too soon. In the grand scheme of things, it's not going to fix anything for Jennie or her kids. But if it gives her a little peace to know so many are doing this one small thing, then I'm happy to do it.

I'm going to take a picture of that pie and post is somewhere I can always see it so I can remember that it's the little things that keep us going no matter how crazy the storm can get. I invite you to do the same.

Photo by Taste of Home

Just keep smiling

This weekend I felt the urge to stop someone who I know is living a similar situation to ours. I wanted to ask him how he's managing. How he's surviving. How he keeps his smile going.


I know the answer though. I'm doing it too.


You move forward one day at a time. One moment at a time. And you don't think too far ahead.

This weekend I heard, at a session on being vulnerable and real bloggers, Brene Brown tell a group of very emotional listeners that "We're ready to share our story when the healing is in the telling, not the response." Some people write to get feedback on how to handle issues. Many write once they've worked through things on their own. 

That's me. 

I'm not ready to write about all of it yet.

I'm still just focusing on getting through the moments.