Phylicia Masonheimer

Motherhood

How to Enjoy Your Life with a Toddler and a Baby

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“Just wait until you have two,” She laughed. “One is a vacation.” As a new mom, I was the object of much unnecessary, negative input regarding my solitary offspring. Once I had two – I was told – life would fall apart and all semblance of routine would go down with it.

Perhaps it’s my personality, but when someone tells me something is impossible, my first inclination is to prove them wrong. But really, it’s not even about them: I want to prove to myself that it’s possible to enjoy motherhood, enjoy my kids, and enjoy life – all at the same time.

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That Mom Who Has It All Together… Doesn’t

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I’m going out on a limb talking about this; a limb the mommy wars might saw off at any moment, and I’ll go tumbling to an untimely internet death.

But this message is worth the fall, if I take it. Because I’m really over the assumptions we’re making – these assumptions we women make about each other.

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Mama, Embrace Your Not-So-Quiet Time

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I’m reading the bible chronologically this year. Every morning finds my clunky, awkward journaling bible propped halfway between an armchair and an endtable, coffee spilling with each elbow bump as I turn pages with one hand and hold my nursing baby with the other. Sometimes my eyes are so heavy I can’t remember which part of the Tabernacle I was reading about two minutes before. Sometimes I re-read a passage three times as my two-year-old interrupts with tears or toys.

My quiet time is not so quiet. And if you’re a mama to young children, I’m guessing yours isn’t either.

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The Ultimate Advent Activity List for Toddlers

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Who knew it was so hard to find toddler activities for Advent and the holidays? I certainly didn’t! When you have a toddler, it can be hard to find activities that are both seasonal AND age appropriate, especially if you wish to highlight Advent. While I was searching for toddler activities, most of what I found was geared to older children.

We are in that awkward stage of marriage where the holidays are no longer the “free and easy” of our dating days, when events could be attended without coordinating a babysitter. But we’re not quite to the stage of parenting where our girls can really engage with the holiday, either. But I don’t want to wait until our girls are older to start making family traditions and enjoying the Christmas season.

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Worth the Wait: Geneva’s Home Birth Story

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The little girl cooing in the bassinet joined us only four weeks ago, but with each passing day we love her more than the one before. Geneva Anne joined us on October 21st. She took her time getting here, and judging by her personality so far, that will be par for the course (unlike her sister Adeline, who had to be two weeks early and continues to operate on a packed social schedule and abundant extroversion). As I finally sit down to share her birth story, I see the grace of God for her specific entry into the world – the same way Adeline’s birth was the grace we needed for that season.

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