PulseonParenting | Let's Get to the Heart of Parenting

One Year Later

Aug 01 2018

We were told it takes a year. Of course, at that time we couldn’t imagine what the next 12 months would hold, but we knew it wouldn’t be easy. Every day would be a first. One year ago today my husband’s dad, my second father for 30 years, and our kids’ grandfather lost his brave fight with a rare cancer. True to his nature, he outlived the prognosis by several months with his positive outlook to live every day to the fullest. He learned from a early age how precious and tenuous life is and made sure, for almost 60 years…

Jul 31 2018

I love me a beautiful writing journal. Browsing all the shapes and sizes, colors and patterns, snap closures and leather ties is, for me, better than shoe shopping. I’m proud of my collection of bound volumes adorning my bookshelf, but I have a dirty little secret: I’m not so good about writing in them. Even the brand-new, shimmery, technicolor volume beckoning to me from my office space is not motivating me to finish writing in the yummy “Land of Oz” journal I currently use. Not that I don’t love journaling because I do crave the chance to free-write but…

Jul 26 2018

I guess my husband is going to find out about this now. (Hi, Honey!) A few days ago I’m out running errands during a busy time of day, look left to turn right, do the turning, and then hear a horn blast. And a jolt from behind. Uuuuggggh. How and why I didn’t see the little red pickup truck has me shaken even now. And my mistake really rattled the other driver. Fortunately, that’s the worst part of our encounter as neither of our vehicles was damaged. Believe me, I will admire that small miracle for weeks to come….

Jul 24 2018

You know you’ve found your tribe when everyone in it shares the status of their armpits. Odor (loads or a little to none), sweat (when and how much) and products that work or fail. Now that’s friendship. After this completely transparent (like a deodorant that doesn’t leave white stuff on my tops) text chat, I feel empowered. So much so I will share, unashamed, that I am a sweaty betty. It takes very little heat and stress for me, ironically and otherwise always cold, to glisten in a terribly unattractive way. (Sweaty yoga doesn’t count. Everyone is drenched there.) …

Jul 19 2018

Ok. Full disclosure. The reason for this post is a blood-stained carpet but I thought “How to Get Blood Out of Your Carpet” sounded a bit too Sopranos for my family-oriented blog. Believe me, the guy at the carpet cleaning place was rattled, judging from how our phone conversation started out: Me: “Hi. I need someone to come and get the blood stains out of my carpet.” Awkward silence. Even more awkward silence. Ok. Really? No one has ever asked this guy this question before???? Me (giving in): “My daughter had a nosebleed.” Guy (sounding a little too relieved): “Oh, yes! …

Jul 17 2018

My family and I spent the last two weeks “back home,” “back home” being central Iowa and eastern Nebraska where my husband and I spent our formative years. Our kids think it’s weird when their parents talk like this because to them, home is where the puppy is. Where Dad and Mom grew up (read: no puppy…) can’t possibly be “home.” Ironically, my daughter challenged me to read and finish a book on the plane trip back to Iowa: On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the diary of the trek she and Almanzo and Rose took from DeSmet, Dakota…

Jun 27 2018

Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper and I should be best friends. After reading The Magnolia Story I learned we have a ton in common. We love to cook. Neither of us wants to upgrade our engagement diamonds from modest to monstrous. We both lean toward introversion. And visual clutter drives us crazy. I can feel my blood pressure rise when the kitchen counter goes MIA under newspapers, books and whatever random items my kids drop upon it. I avoid my office space for all the piles. To help calm myself, I placed a kitch-y towel on our mantle to keep myself from…

Jun 21 2018

My daughter loves to play games. Clue. Battleship. Uno. (She totally cleans up with the last one, so we’re sending her to Vegas when she’s 21.) And we love to indulge her, being players of games ourselves. But when she pulls out the Game of LIFE, I’d rather play the game of hey-let’s-chose-something-else. Darn you, Hasbro. LIFE is hard. (just like the real deal.) I always need the players’ manual at the ready because the rules are so complicated. (If only actual life had one of these.) And I don’t like the stakes. Whoever retires into fabulousness (chose either “Countryside…

Jun 14 2018

When I hear those two words, “growing pains” that little memory file in my brain opens and B.J. Thomas starts crooning in my head: As long as we got each uh-uh-ther… . It happens to you, too, right? Or maybe not. I know, I’m hinting at my age (note the pants in the photo above) by recalling the 1980’s family sitcom Growing Pains and its earworm*** of a theme song. And about the time that saccharin prime-time show aired I had exactly what the title described: (actual) growing pains. But what are they, really? “Growing pains” are often used to describe any…

Jun 07 2018

Something was not right. I looked at the packaging on my favorite protein powder to see how it described the Stevia content and saw “stevia leaf extract.” That worried me, being that in my post How to Approach the Sugar Epidemic I stated that only stevia leaf glycosides were approved by the FDA for food use. And that anything other than that, like stevia leaf extract, was not and could cause unwanted side effects. Ok, I had a bit of a panic, as my whole family used the protein powder and loves it. As it turns out, I worried…

Getting to the Heart of Parenting...

One Year Later

Journaling: Not Just for Writers

Step Seven to an Extraordinary Life: Admire Small Miracles

Are Antiperspirants a Health Risk?

How to Get Organic-Based Stains Out of Your Carpet

Sharing Our Childhoods With Our Kids

Step 6 for an Extraordinary Life: Make Space

the Game of LIFE

Growing Pains: What They are and What to Do About Them

A Clarification About Stevia