Toddlers

I Am Thankful… – A Mother’s Letter by Alison LaFerlita

by Kate Fineske November 25, 2013

Every year I find myself placing more and more emphasis on teaching my children the importance of expressing thanks and gratitude. Today, Alison LaFerlita is doing just that in a letter to her boys. By sharing her own thanks-givings, she hopes to communicate the importance of showing gratitude for what you DO have. Alison—a mother [...]

Pin It
Read the full article →

Our Child’s First Teacher

by Kate Fineske May 23, 2013

~ When my husband and I first met we had this ongoing debate: Ketchup? Or ranch? My husband likes ranch with everything. He dunks french fries and vegetables, chicken and burgers – honestly nearly anything that he feels needs a little extra boost of taste – into ranch. Everything tastes better with ranch! (Or so [...]

Pin It
Read the full article →

Tipping Chairs and Other Family Dinner Dilemmas

by Kate Fineske September 20, 2012

“For the LAST time! Please. Stop. Tipping backwards on those chairs!” This is one of those phrases that I say (way too many times a week) during mealtime that reminds me how much my life has changed since becoming a mother. Lately, it seems I hear myself lecturing far more than listening during our family [...]

Read the full article →

A Bag of Mixed Emotions (A Back to School Reflection)

by Kate Fineske September 6, 2012

~With a much heavier heart than I anticipated, I forced a smile on my face. The school year had begun, and my two oldest children were off to school again, excitedly stepping up into their big, yellow school bus. With mixed emotions and a million-and-one conflicted feelings racing through my mind, I watched them both [...]

Read the full article →

The Golden Years of Parenting

by Kate Fineske February 2, 2012

Note: On Wednesday, February 15th, the National Association of Mothers’ Centers will be hosting a webinar as part of their Parenting and Family Webinar Series entitled: Staying Connected: Maintaining the lines of Communication with your Teen. This upcoming webinar inspired me to reflect on those small moments in the present, where I’ve contemplated the future. [...]

Read the full article →

You Can’t Always Get What You Want…

by Kate Fineske December 22, 2011

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need”~ The Rolling Stones Right before Thanksgiving is just about the time when it all begins. Everywhere you look, commercialism is in full swing. Everywhere. And, about 6 years ago, as a mom to my [...]

Read the full article →

Milestones in Motherhood

by Kate Fineske December 1, 2011

~“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”~ Albert Einstein ~ Stop the Presses! Because we have exciting news in our household! The other day we hit the significant milestone of officially putting the high chair away. Yep! Our youngest child, our baby toddler, has finally stopped pitching his cup [...]

Read the full article →

“Scientific Studies” in Effective Communication (or lack-there-of)

by Kate Fineske August 25, 2011

~ Ladies and gentlemen… The Captain is speaking! Except that he’s not… You never realize how important communication is, until you can’t communicate with someone. And my youngest (although he understands every word that I say to him) is not quite able to communicate verbally yet. Physically he communicates: He smiles at appropriate times, he [...]

Read the full article →

The Dining Battleground: War Stories of a Hungry Mom

by Kate Fineske June 2, 2011

Eating out with young children is never a breezy walk in the park. In my experience, most times dining out with little kids does NOT look like this: For just a moment, let’s analyze what’s missing and what’s wrong with this family dining shot. #1. The table AND the child are clean… This is obviously [...]

Read the full article →

From a Mother’s Child to a Child’s Mother: The 5 Stages of Understanding Motherhood

by Kate Fineske May 5, 2011

Now that I am a Mom, I get my OWN, personal holiday! My very own day that is meant to celebrate me. (Oh, and about a bazillion other awesome moms too!) With that being said, when I think about Mother’s Day, the first thing I think about is not myself. The first thing that I [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries