MamaManagement

We have toy clutter. A LOT of toy clutter. This is because we have a lot of toys. Do we have too many toys? Probably. Do we need to "cull the herd," as my husband is fond of saying? Yep. But even once we cull the herd...and do a major-league organizing overhaul, as I manage to do once or twice a year...we will still have toy clutter. Why? Because we have a 4 and a 6 year old. And while I am not a fan of clutter of any kind. And I am not a fan of looking at piles of toys all the time...which aren't appealing to the eye even when they're cleaned up. I've come to a conclusion: These are The Toy Years. You begin life as a parent in the Baby Contraption Years. That's when your house is taken over by swings and bouncy seats and pack-n-plays and high chairs. Then you breathe this giant sigh of relief as you pack up those monstrosities. And you think to yourself, "Finally, no more baby clutter." And then the toys move in. Firs

Hey friends! Just wanted to let you know that an author friend of mine, Mae Claire, is offering a free kindle download from Amazon today only (6/10/15) of her romantic mystery,  Eclipse Lake, as part of a promotion for the release of her newest book, Myth and Magic.  Here's the book blurb and the link to the free download. If you enjoy Romantic Mysteries, check it out! Eclipse Lake Small towns hold the darkest secrets. Fifteen years after leaving his criminal past and estranged brother behind, widower Dane Carlisle returns to his hometown on the banks of sleepy Eclipse Lake. Now, a successful businessman, he has kept his troubled past a secret from most everyone, including his seventeen-year-old son. But memories in small towns are bitter and long. Ellie Sullivan, a nature photographer for a national magazine, has a habit of ping-ponging across the map. Her latest assignment leads her to Eclipse Lake where she becomes caught up in the enmity between Dane, his broth

Make peace with it. For me, these words always conjured up the idea of some major grievance. You were seriously wronged or hurt by another person. You're holding a major grudge. You're holding onto hatred or blame or guilt. Something horrible happened to you, or you did something awful in the past. These were the things that you made peace with. Or so I thought, until the other day, when a friend used these words with me when we were talking about something I was struggling with internally. She asked me if I could just make peace with it. Could I accept that it just is and that is okay? Could I let go of the black and white/right and wrong thinking that was forcing me to pick a side in my internal debate? Could I give a little on both sides? Could I just make peace with it? I this case, "Making peace with it" had nothing to do with another person. No one had done anything to me. I hadn't made some horrible mistake. It had to do with two dueling parts of