MississippiMom.com - Blogging about Family and Faith in the Hospitality State

July 10, 2024

Indescribable Atlas Adventures – And a LONG OVERDUE Review

About a year or so ago, I received a review copy of the Indescribable Activity Book for Kids by Louie Giglio. It arrived in all its new book glory looking exactly like this: Then it promptly disappeared. The next time I saw it, it looked like this: Ok. That's a bit of an exaggeration. This is what it looked when I found it in the back of my car after more than a few trips to Houston and back. The window for review was long closed, the book was well loved, and I've had more than just a little guilt nagging at me because I never reviewed it. So, when I received a review copy of Indescribable Atlas Adventures, I jumped at the ...

January 8, 2024

3 Ways to Start the New Year with Faith

Happy new year! It's January 8, and one of my kids has just gone back to school. The others are easing into the new year, and I'm sipping coffee at my leisure like my Christmas tree isn't still up. I blame my husband and his spectacular Christmas gift. When the coffee's this good, I must sit down and savor it. Our Classical Conversations Community doesn't resume until next week so I have a little time to prepare and plan before we kick off a new semester. This morning, however, I'm not rushing to start the new things or reflecting on the past. I'm just sitting in the present. The blue sky is studded with fluffy, white clouds. The ...

December 22, 2023

Parenting Hacks for a Successful, Less Stressful New Year

Let's be honest for a moment, ok? Motherhood is hard. Parenting is hard. It starts with sleepless nights and crying babies and morphs over the years to sleepless nights as you worry over out-late college students, sassy teenagers, and more laundry than you could ever have imagined. As moms, we have to manage it all. I'm not always good at it. If I ever manage to keep all the balls in the air, I probably hurt everyone's feelings in the process because the stress of keeping things moving ends up breaking me down. And, I don't always pay enough attention to my kids. There. I said it. I need to be a more attentive parent, and one of the ...

December 18, 2023

Keeping it together while your spouse is away

When I was pregnant with our first child, my husband was routinely working several hours away and often had to stay overnight for meetings. It was just the two of us, so the distance was easy to manage until I found myself admitted to the hospital in preterm labor while he was on the road. Living in south Mississippi, I have several friends whose husbands work offshore, and I'm always amazed by how they manage their homes and families while their husbands are away. Being a parent is comparable to being the logistics coordinator for a small organization. Who has practice this afternoon? Where is the game tonight? What will everyone eat for ...

December 15, 2023

How To Create The Ideal Bedtime Routine For Your Baby

As the last of our kids inch toward the teen years, it's easy to forget how hard the early days of motherhood can be. Long days and often longer nights lead to days chasing toddlers without the energy required to do it well. I wish I had realized with my first two children how vital a good nighttime routine is to a smooth daytime one. After all, a good bedtime routine helps ensure babies have a good night’s sleep, which helps them thrive and grow, while enabling parents to get some sleep and peace, too. With adequate rest, parenting life becomes a lot easier. Yes, you might still be tired, but you’ll be more productive and much happier, ...