Toddlers Archives - The Mom Initiative

5 Tips for Potty Training Your Toddler

Potty training can be a mom’s worst nightmare or become the best thing since sliced bread for your family. I’ve found five keys to potty training my kids which are patience, practice, readiness, reward, and positive reinforcement. Here are five tips to help you potty train your toddler. Patience Don’t pray for patience because if you do, God will give you a child to potty train. I’m kidding. (Sort of!). When I was potty training my twin girls, it took us almost a year to master going #1 and #2 in the potty. Even though the girls are twins, we still had …

How to find hope on the days that seem hopeless

As our girls were running around playing, my friend lamented to me the frustrations of her day. Her son got in trouble at school again, this time for biting. Her infant still isn’t sleeping through the night. Her husband is always at work and she feels like a caged lion, trapped in her home and ready to pounce. With every word she said, I got it. Don’t you? We all have those days, us mothers. Being a mom of three kids under five, I’m always running – either on adrenaline or exhaustion. A messy house is the norm and rest …

Expectant devotions for new and expectant moms

How far is the distance between your parenting expectations and your reality? Becoming a mom has a way of surpassing and squashing our expectations at the same time. It’s a weird and wonderful thing, this journey of growing into a mama. For those just starting out, it helps to have a guide for growing your own life while growing your family. EXPECTANT, 40 devotions for new and expectant moms, is that guide. Whether we join the adventure biologically or through adoption, experience has a way of changing our expectations. Honest moms who can remember will admit to announcing they would …

Five Tips for Moms of Flower Girls and Ring Bearers

Many people get a chuckle out of the flower girls and ring bearers at weddings. I have been to many weddings where the ring bearer would start saying something silly or the flower girls would dump out all their petals right at the end of the aisle. They always look darling in their nice outfits and they are a sweet reminder of how Jesus loves us. But, if you’ve ever been the mother of a flower girl or ring bearer, you know how rewarding and difficult it is to have your children in a wedding. My brother recently got married …

when time is fleeting

Time. There never seems to be enough time and it always seems to be in a hurry. Click To Tweet Like summer, for instance. Where did it go? How is it already time to buy the new shoes, meet our teachers, and begin the busy days of fall? It amazes me that at the beginning of the summer, my girls’ hair was just below their shoulders and now it is flowing down their backs, desperate for a trim. And my baby boy, he’s already outgrown his six month clothes, some barely worn. Wasn’t he just born? I blink, and …

A Key Worth Finding

“Where are my keys?” I ask this question quickly as time escapes the morning. The twins were in their corduroy jumpers filled with patterns of fuchsia, lavender, and apple green. My hair was combed, make-up applied, body dressed for March weather. Juice bottles were fixed, snacks were made. It was five minutes to nine and we had to get out of the door now to make it just in time to our destination. But, where were my keys? “Adeline, Maralee, do you know where Mommy’s keys are?” Grins splash across their faces as they dash into the next room. Following …

Survival guide for taking kids to restaurants

Kids are not born knowing how to behave in public. In fact, “public” manners vary greatly depending on the culture you’re in and the setting within the culture. When I posted a recent observation on Facebook about a mom wrangling two boys at a coffee shop, it stirred up a flurry of comments. Strong feelings came out from non-kid-toting adults who feel impacted by children in public places like restaurants, church, and stores. Equally strong feelings came out from moms with fresh memories of the challenges of getting out with children. I sensed both groups asking, “Don’t they get it?” …

5 Ways Twins Can Change Your Life

Some people call me a superhero, doubly blessed. Others say I have my hands full, double trouble. Hi, my name is Christen, and I’m a mother of twins. Before I had children, I had heard rumors that motherhood was the most challenging and rewarding job on the face of the planet. I was the newlywed that thought I could handle the challenge of being a mom; that it couldn’t be that hard. I had illusions that the reward part of motherhood would be more often than the challenge and my children would be well behaved, athletic, musically-talented, smart, and successful …

What Peter Rabbit’s Momma Can Teach Us About Parenting

My twin two year old girls love The Tale of Peter Rabbit. I’m sure they can relate to mischievous Peter, who doesn’t listen to his mother and goes to Mr. McGregor’s garden anyway to eat carrots. Our version has the pull tabs and it is almost torn to pieces we’ve read it so much. They love finding Peter’s lost shoes and pulling the gooseberry net up and down trying to release him. They explore the tool shed looking for Peter but only finding a ladybug, butterfly and bubble bee instead. Finally, Peter makes it out of Mr. McGregor’s garden and …

Hula-Hooping Into 2013

Confession: I’m a multi-tasker who is tired of multi-tasking. (photo source: dailyhistory.net) Entering 2013, my eyes have barely focused on the future from the blur of 2012. It was the year of the multi-tasking mamma, aka me (was it for you too?). From planning a two year old tu-tu birthday party, putting our house up for sale, moving to our hometown, and leaving my stay-at-home job for church ministry, my days were filled juggling. To mark the end of our crazy year, my husband and I ventured to the salty air and crashing waves in Florida to clear our heads …

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