The Momma in the Middle

Howdy again, ya'll! Yes, WEEK TWO of my FALL SELF-CARE CHALLENGE is coming to you a couple weeks late. Sometimes, life goes off the rails a bit and we have to take time to address much larger goings-on. In my case, my best friend's sweet baby boy passed away unexpectedly and that was a much more important focus than blogging. It still is, honestly. If I could cut myself in two and send half of me back to PA, where I was last week, I would do so. But I had to get back to Texas to care for my own babies and get back up to speed in my work life, so here I am...blathering to you. So about this self-care stuff... Well, honestly, I barely got started. So here's to new new  beginnings, right? Because it's never too late or too early to begin again anew. So to recap... The first three changes I wanted to incorporate in my life to create better balance were: 1. Stop Watching the Clock, 2. Stop Denying My Inner Clock, and 3. Quit With Arbitrary Rules. Have you tri...

Howdy, folks! As I alluded to on my personal Facebook last week (it's time to make a change, ya'll) and on The Momma in the Middle's FB page (new series coming, ya'll), I'm embarking on the journey of life changes. Why, you ask? Because today is my 38th birthday! Or, as my kids are teasingly referring to it this year, today is the 9th anniversary of my 29th birthday. I'm not where I thought I would be in life at this age or stage. But then again, are you? In conversations with other women and moms - and, also, other adults in general, regardless of gender - I'm finding that it's pretty common to be unexpectedly on a different track or in a different place or station than expected. You've got your reasons. I've got mine. Those reasons aren't going to help us get to where we want to be, however. Making changes and making our way to where we DO want to be in life is hard work. Very, very, very hard work. Which is - confession tim...

Had a scary experience with my doggos last night! There’s currently a breach in our backyard fence that I haven’t had time to fix yet because I have to clear out a bunch of vegetation before I can reach it, but that allows the pups to get out. They don’t go far...we figured out there was a breach because we’d let them out the back door and they’d be begging to get in the house from the front door 30 seconds later. So for the past week or so, they’ve been going potty out front on leashes. Last night, around midnight, I took them for one last potty trip. When we all got outside, after a moment, I noticed all three were transfixed, staring up at a bird on the power line. I didn’t have my glasses on and it was very dark so I had to move closer and really squint to see. Danged if it wasn’t an owl! I’ve lived in Texas since the last week of May 2002, arriving here two weeks after college graduation up in PA. In 16 years and 4 months, I cannot recall seeing a singl...

I recently bought both of my littles a cell phone. Yes, they're still a bit on the young side for that, but after thinking about it for a long time - like, really, a year - I decided it was the best course of action. Having a cell phone doesn't mean the kids now have free reign over the internet, apps and all of the craziness that goes along with it. *This Momma* has gone all NSA on the little ones, loading up their devices with parental monitoring software so that I have oversight of their usage and control over how the devices are used. I'd like to share the apps I've installed so far - and then see what your favorites are to use for your kiddos' devices. First up was Family Link . Family Link is an actual Google product and designed specifically so that families can safely allow children to use cell phones and other devices. And so far, I'm just loving it! I set up a profile for each kiddo and the parameters around their usage that I want to e...