Recent Articles
A Thank You Note To All The Saints
I love my kids very much! Maybe I didn’t fully know what I signed up for when having 5 of them (who does?), but I stand by and live with the choices and the gifts. They are amazing blessings and I can’t imagine life without them. I have to say those things (which are...
Book Review: No-Drama Discipline
Book review: No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson Status: Highly recommended. This is the second release from Drs. Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson, and I...
Me and My Trashy Bedroom
"They" say a person's bedroom is like a hidden window into who they are, individually and as a couple. I sure hope that's not true. Because these bags of trash have been sitting in our room since Christmas, and they are multiplying at an alarming rate. We're not...
I’m Coming to Kill You
I'm Coming To Kill You Hosea (4) in a sing-song voice: "Spiiiider... I'm coming to kiiill you." GET FIRED!!! Asa (5): "You should quit all of your jobs and just spend time with us." Daddy: "We would love that!" Hosea (chanting): "GET FIRED! GET FIRED! GET FIRED!" Big...
My Low-Expectation Parenting Goals For the New Year
(That's me in the back corner, outnumbered by all these boys. Don't I look tired? Yeah, well, I am.) Every new year, my husband and I make goals for everything. And I mean everything. Spiritual, financial, personal, business-related, marriage goals, family goals,...
The Toalson Family Holiday Blitz
Christmas this year is a continuation of what is becoming a new yearly tradition that I am calling the Toalson Family Holiday Blitz. Here's what it looks like: 1. Make a list of all of the gifts we will lovingly make by hand. 2. Schedule a variety of activities we'll...
It’s a Lego Explosion Up In Here
This room should come with a warning. It should say, "Beware of the tiny little Lego pieces hiding in the fibers of the carpet." It should say, "Those who enter should be wearing shoes." It should say, "Enter at your own risk." Two days ago, the 8-year-old, who owns...
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