Family Encourager

A few months ago, after a few entries to the blog, a friend asked me "what's the point of your blog?" I would like to address that here and possibly tackle the question "what's the point of this modern life?" It's a huge question I am aware and countless answers, views, and approaches to answering it. I will give mine here, its my blog after all! The point of my blog, I would like to think is, as I have written in my profile. To possibly advise, inform, and above all entertain. We, women, lead intricate, adventurous, abundant, bustling, overwhelming lives. We fulfill a mixture of roles that differ in character from mother to sex vixen.  We wake up every morning with our feet barely hitting the ground before accomplishing a load of tasks. So I would like to believe, that we need that five minutes to read a short blog entry, that may or may not emulate our life. It might make us feel less lonely, give us a much needed snicker, or show us a whole ...

As I have mentioned on many occasions I am an expat living abroad. Definition of expatriate (expat for short), "a person who lives outside their native country". I have been doing that for most of my life and now so are my children.  We live in a place that is described as "Disney World for adults" or "Singapore on steroids" or "a place full of contradictions". Its an amazing city, full of new exciting improvements, constant dynamic change, and continuous out of this world ideas that actually get accomplished! The drawback (you may ask)? Its in the desert, we get extended boiling hot summers. It makes us, expats, and the local population run away for the summer school holidays. That is my excuse for not sharing a new blog entry with you for so long! I am hoping you can forgive my absence! Having lived in my little Disney inspired fast paced city for over 20 years, I wanted to share the expat experience with all of you. How my c...

I entered into a competition I did not know existed. I became a mom and I became a stay at home mom (I really don't know what that means, I am rarely at home, I run in and out all day).  Anyway, back to the topic at hand, that competition I mentioned, I was not aware there was a competition between moms that stay home to raise their children and moms that raise their children while holding down a career. I discovered early on that mommy wars are very real and can get nasty. All moms are working moms aren't they? I have not met many moms that raise a family without putting in the hours. There is always a perception that a mom with a career is not available, not attentive, not involved, or not hands on. That is not true, I have come across career moms who make it to the school concert, are always there for their kids, who know what is going on at school, who remember celebrations, and school work, and make sure that everyday they participate in their children's life....

I normally do not quote the bible, but I found this as fitting my topic today. "Judge not, lest ye be judged". I do not know about all mothers, but I do know myself and those mothers in my life, and I know that from day one of finding out we are with child, guilt finds a home in our psyche. We feel guilty about what we are eating, drinking, what activity we are pursuing, amount of sleep, even down to the quality of the air we are breathing. It is a time when soon to be moms need all the support they can garner. They are entering the land of the unknown. A place of wonder, joy, fear, anxiety, endless love, terror, amazement. They are going to feel clumsy, unfit, unqualified, hopeless, and total failures on varied occasions in the first few months of motherhood. Do these poor lost souls need further criticism and judgment from experienced moms? The answer is an unequivocal "No",  yet that is what too often happens. This judgment continues forevermore.  ...

By popular demand, I have been asked to tackle the issue of marital "communication"(or lack of), depending who you talk to. For all you newly weds, or in the first throes of a relationship, stop reading now! For all you old marrieds, most of you will know what I am talking about, and you are probably wincing now. Thinking; is she crazy? I have been married long enough to know that men and women speak a different language, but not long enough to understand all the male dialect. Will that ever happen, you ask? Maybe, maybe not. Having lived a life full of movement and change, I have met a multitude of fascinating ladies, of different ages and cultures. It has been eye opening and adventurous, learning how they met their significant other, how their life had developed through the years, and the beauty and the annoyances of a partnered life. Yes, male species of the human kind, women share their stories, that is why we live longer! We all came down this path in...

My eldest celebrated his 14th birthday this week. I thought he became a teen last year, but my friends who have older children informed me nicely that this is the year of change.  A time when your teen will metamorphose into a semi adult, into a mini man, into a facial hair growing, tall big foot, with a strange voice.  I have been warned, he will separate himself from the family unit, become a loner in the home, grunt one word answers to your questions, and generally become unrecognizable. Gone will be the sweet needy boy, well, he will still be needy, needing plenty of feeding from what I hear. As for us, at this juncture, my 14 year old is still a sweet loving child who actually enjoys hanging out with us and his 5 year old sister (that is when his social life is not calling or his social media is not pinging).  He still asks me for "mom and me" time, asks for my opinion on stuff, and gives me the daily football update from around the world...

The raging debate in my home this week, is to adopt a puppy or not? Before I get all the dog people on my case, let me get it out of the way, I love dogs!  Years ago before baby number two, while our son was growing, and growing all alone with no siblings, we discussed adopting a puppy. For our son to have company and someone to share happy memories with. That discussion got shelved, when I got pregnant with our daughter.  Five years later, the debate is back in full force. My husband seems to think it will teach our teenager responsibility and our five year old to stop fearing animals. It is a noble thought and  a fantastic idea. The truth is, I am against us getting a new family member, one that never grows and needs constant attention. We live in a desert, we have two seasons hot and hotter. A dog cannot stay outside for long periods of time. We lead busy lives, a dog should have company and affection for a big part of the day. Our teenager is...