Parenting lessons simply never end

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 17 April 2012 13:43

Our family recently gathered to celebrate my oldest’s birthday. She’s 4. Already.

It’s one of those “time goes by so quickly” situations that totally caught me off guard. My little 6 pound, 1 ounce baby girl who wore preemie clothes for the first weeks of her life is now one year away from 5. And one year away from kindergarten.

My big girl, of course, has taken everything in stride. She proudly and confidently holds up her four fingers whenever she is asked her age. Her kitty birthday cake made her face light up. The stack of gifts made her jump up and down. Little sister swiping her newly opened treasures made her scream and push. (Oh wait, maybe she hasn’t taken EVERYTHING in stride.)

Sometimes I find it difficult to...

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Head bonk a cure for mommy guilt

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:00

Have you ever had one of those days where everything is just a little off? You wake up a few inches to the left. You run three minutes late to everything. You misjudge the proximity to which you are standing in relation to your kitchen counter, bend down and whap your forehead.

Oh wait, that was probably just me.

But that, seemingly, has been what the last 10 weeks have been for me. (I can be that specific because I have been keeping track. If you’re wondering why, it has to do with constant nausea, exhaustion and a due date of Sept. 8.)

No matter the cause, all this “off-ness” has brought two emotions constantly to the surface: guilt and failure.

I feel guilty that my house is a wreck. I feel guilty that my girls have watched...

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Being super takes a lot of practice

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 14 February 2012 15:05

As a mom, I always imagined I would be at the top of my game when it comes to protecting my girls.

With the medical history of our oldest, including lab-work, hospital stays and surgery, my husband and I have become adept at overprotectiveness regarding her health. We’ve had practice holding her through her pain and tears. And we’ve hidden our own tears to lessen her fears.

Sometimes I feel like we’ve morphed into a kind of super-parent zone when it comes to not crashing under the pressure of a 107 degree temperature, or three straight days of visiting the hospital laboratory to draw blood or not jumping down the throat of a nurse who has immense trouble inserting an IV into my little girl’s arm.

We’ve learned to be at the...

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Select a word for the year ahead

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 17 January 2012 14:42

The New Year is no longer new. And the transition to 2012 was probably pretty uneventful for most.

Remnants of any celebrations have long-since been cleared. In fact, trash from one of the world’s largest New Year’s parties—Times Square in New York City—is cleared well before dawn, leaving one to wonder if up to 1 million people ever really rang in the New Year together.

Even if you vowed to somehow make 2012 different, for the majority, life continued in the manner of 2011. There’s work, school, family responsibilities and daily duties. Most of 2011 rolled right in to 2012 without much notice—even this pesky head cold of mine…good riddance!

By now, the freshness of New Year’s resolutions has probably worn off. Perhaps...

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