When you have kids your focus seems to pinpoint. Things that you never paid much attention to seem insanely important. When it's an infant you quickly learn that your home is full of danger and needs improvement. Toddlers make the rest of the world seem like a minefield, and every day that your child survives [...]
Writing another article for The Decent Mom has been on my mind for weeks now. Inspiration finally struck me as I listened to Oprah interview Sarah Ban Breathnach. The interview is great. Love or hate Oprah, her interviewing skills are beyond reproach and her Super Soul Conversations never fail to impress. Ban Breathnach's genius book, Simple Abundance, [...]
It's been quite a while since I posted regarding my weight loss surgery, so I thought you'd like a one year update. In case you missed it or are new to my page, you can read about my 15-year journey to health. I've written quite a few articles regarding this subject, including whether weight loss surgery [...]
I've been missing The Decent Mom, have you? If you've been wondering where I fell off too...life happened, as it always does. Things got intensely busy in the fall when I started taking college classes. Then my sister-in-law passed away suddenly, which led to our adopting our beautiful niece. It's just been insane! Things are [...]
Dear Teenager, I get it. Those jerks at school just keep on pushing and don't know when to back off. I don't know why they target you, because you really are a good kid. Your parents aren't who you need them to be either. Either they are crazy strict and don't let you breathe...or they [...]
Whether you need some extra cash for school supplies, clothing, a small vacation or to pay bills...we could all use some extra cash from time to time. For the stay at home mom or working mom, this is tough! All moms work long hours and make sacrifices for their family. For the sake of this [...]
It's mid July, and it's already been a long summer. Since this is the first year we've put the kids in public school, it's also our first "summer vacation" and my first time with the summer time blues. I never knew how busy and yet isolating this time of year can be. I write this [...]
To fly my family anywhere it'd cost us at least $1000, and that just isn't going to happen at this stage in our life. We love to travel, and it's important to us to show the kids how different parts of our country are alike but very different. In order to have some fun traveling [...]
I lost roughly 80 pounds in the 4 short months after my gastric bypass. My bariatric surgeon has told me that he wants me to lose a total of 125 pounds, which would put me around 140 pounds. When I joined the Air Force in 2001, I weighed approximately 160 pounds. I cannot remember a time [...]
Women always seem to have problems with their self esteem and confidence, don't we? I don't know if it's social pressures or the devil we know as Photoshop, but it's real. Experts have said that "Mom has 'the' biggest impact on girls' body image", but we've known that, right ladies? I don't know of a [...]