



Messy house, check





Drawings on the fridge, check

Accomplishments they're proud of, check

Framed memories, check

Mothers' Day presents, check





"Enjoy it all! Give her more experiences than she can handle!





All the extracurricular she wants! Be there for everything! Try to give her everything! Cherish all of it. Make yourself available to her! Tell her you love her all the time! Hugs ever yday! Let her sleep with you until she's maybe 10yrs old (lol)! Drop her off at school! Help in her classroom! Laugh with her and at her! Let her laugh with and at you! Make her a daddy's and mommy's girl! Kids are our greatest inventions!





Make sure to always want to spend time with, teach, encourage, and love her! They grow too fast and if you miss any of it, you'll regret it! Jesse just woke up right now and is explaining (in his words) "that the short hand is approaching the 7 so it's still 6 and the long hand on 5 so it :25" Kids are the best! So forget "yourself" and give it to her! She'll need all the help she can get in our crazy world."





It's hard to "love" 12-13 year-olds. They roll their eyes, they mutter under their breath, they start using cuss words, they say things without really thinking.. Over all of that noise, I tell myself they are really just kids trying to find their place in the world.A lesson is so over once the kids are not emotionally involved. It takes a good eye to try to make real-world connections with some of the concepts we're expected to teach. Blogger Jessica Lahey notes that "to help students learn, engage the emotions." By either connecting to the concept or the teacher, learning happens.In the classroom, I've been called "Mom" on accident on more than a couple occasions. The more I think about it, I'm okay with being a mom-figure.At home, a different set of mom-moments are everywhere:(Jesse even named our couch "the laundry couch")Physical evidence of a home that is filled with love. As parents, we purposely provide experiences rich in learning. We want our boys to use their emotions, test out their wishes, play with ideas. My husband's advice for a new mom, my sister: Making the world a better place starts with family values. The proof is in the human beings that we are raising.