For the majority of parents, there are 4 simple and basic steps to getting your child to bed. {insert the sarcasm here} Step 1: Bath Time Tell child it’s time for a bath Child tells you they want to keep playing Tell child they can play two more minutes Start running the water in the tub Add bubble bath Go to child’s room and try to lure them into the bathroom Child tells you his 2 minutes of playing is not complete Drag child into bathroom Start stripping child of clothing Get yelled at by child because they want to do it themselves Watch as child attempts unbuttoning a polo shirt Wonder why you even dress them in anything other than a t-shirt Put child on toilet Child needs to pee and poop

1. Getting ready for bed on a week night is absolutely my least favorite time. It seems so damn time consuming and having to repeat yourself regarding things like, "get dressed", "stop needing a drink", "it's time to be still", "stop jumping on the bed", and "stop chasing the dog", wears the shit out of me. You? 2. Had my first turkey and dressing meal of the year. And followed it with my first post-turkey nap of 2014. If you don't know by now, napping is my best sport. 3. Ok readers, I want you to spill the beans. Tell me all the Elf on the Shelf things. What age did you start? If you started before age 3 did you feel like you started too early? When did your little nugget really fully un

For those of you who have made it past age two with your children, am I right in saying age three is for the birds?? I mean, seriously, between the meltdowns and the striving to be independent, it’s some serious stuff we’re dealing with here. When we hear “it takes a village”, that isn’t a joke. As a mom to just one mini, I can’t say what it’s like past age three but I can look back and tell you that age three is a whole lot harder than age one. I sailed through age one. Age one had all the firsts: first laughs, first roll overs, first steps, first food, ect. Most of the firsts are fun. They bring joy. They bring us moms to that heart-warming confidence that yes, we did create a miracl

You know what's funny? I had 3 different Tuesday 10's written and I didn't feel like submitting any of them. What I did feel like telling you is how bad the toddler-isms are this week. And how much it makes me cry. And wanna drink heavily. And how much I can't stand the irrational way of life that 3 year olds live. But if I wrote all of that out in detail, you'd think I hated my child. And be worried for my sanity. And maybe even think my child will end up in counseling as an adult, due to poor parenting when he was three. And all of those are logical concerns. So I'll spare you. Instead of writing, I'm going to share with you 10 links that I highly recommend you visit and *hopefully*

1. On behalf of Kaleb, I/we would like to say thank you for all the prayers yesterday. Little man got his second set of tubes placed and it couldn't have gone more smooth. I'm 99.9% sure he just thinks he got to have a mask on his face that smelled like strawberries. Anything past that, he of course doesn't remember, which results in a very confused look from him when I ask if his ears hurt or if he has a headache. So. Thanks. We'll know the results of his hearing in 3 weeks. 2. Another big thanks goes out to all who have been/were praying for my friends daughter, Ellie. She's making progress everyday and was even reunited with her older sister the other day. She's in extensive thera

Tonight I did something Charles and I wanted to do ever since we were married but just never made the point to do. I went to see Stoney Larue perform live. It's not a huge deal here in Texas, he plays all over, but he's the artist that wrote/sang the song we danced to at our wedding. I went with friends and it wasn't supposed to be an emotional night but here I sit, writing after midnight, so it must have hit home just enough. If someone would have pulled me aside 10 years ago, at age 21 and said, "Samantha, when you're 31, you're going to feel more lost than you've ever felt in your life", I would have laughed in their face. At 21, I knew what I wanted in life and I knew where I was h

I'm going to bitch about season changes, in particular, the winter time. My plan is to get it all out on this Tuesday 10 and then try my very best to not talk about it again. Plus, I was so overly positive last week, I needed to balance. 1. Probably the #1 reason I hate season changes would be the sick kids. They are snotty, coughing, sneezing, germs are flying, it's a hot ass mess. Kaleb and I were in the ER like 7 times last year. We both got the flu at one point and there came a time where staying home was our better option because we were actually getting more sick by going to the doctor and being in a room with eleventy-hundred other sickies. Hate it with a passion. 2. My seco