Gifts from My Garden
In a day and age when we want to be whizzed and banged from one excitement to the next, there are still miracles hidden among the broccoli leaves.
By Tiffany Lewis
Finding the Perfect Pet
She was allergic to cats, and the homeowners association wouldn't let her have a goat. What could possibly be left for an animal-loving mother to adopt into the family?
By Tiffany Lewis
When Opposites Attract, Duck the Collision
When brothers are close, it warms a mother's heart. Except when they're making trouble.
By Tiffany Lewis
Enter 2008 Laughing
There is that oft-quoted, maddening claim that children laugh 300 times per day while adults sputter along at a mere 15 laughs. A lot of parents want to laugh with their kids, but we go hunting for it in the wrong places.
By Tiffany Lewis
Taking It One Word at a Time
Teaching your child to read may be worse than eating worms. But the result may well be worth the agony.
By Tiffany Lewis
The
Candy Parade has Just Begun
It's not just Halloween. Sweets
will consume families — and little teeth — for months
to come.
By Tiffany Lewis
Pacifier
Paradise
The two most valued commodities in our house
these days are sleep and pacifiers, because we seem to lose a
lot of both.
By Tiffany Lewis
They
Call Him the Wanderer
My secret hope is
that the wanderers of childhood grow up to be the engineers who
finally invent a fuel-free car. I hope that as Jackson meanders
down the beach he’s doing quantum physics in his head.
By Tiffany Lewis
Confessions
of a Disorganized Housewife
I spent a week agonizing over getting rid
of our overstuffed armchair. Finally we donated it to Salvation
Army. When they came to pick it up, they said it wasn't up to
their standards. Since when did Salvation Army get so choosy?
By Tiffany Lewis
The
Race I Run
A marathon is simply putting meaning
into one hundred thousand steps. The challenge of the daily marathon
is putting meaning into one hundred thousand scattered seconds.
By Tiffany Lewis
Carpeted
Walls and Hallowed Halls
As a child, one of my greatest hopes and
dreams was that my parents would inherit a million bucks and — buy our local
church building.
By Tiffany Lewis
I Hereby Resolve…
2006
is the year to begin anew. The year of children who smile and
laugh and obey (promptly) and don't poop in their underwear, or
wear underwear on their head to church. It's a year for perfectly
molded Jell-o eggs at Easter. It's a spank-free year.
By Tiffany Lewis
My
Christmas Wish
By bringing this child into the world I
have willingly plunged him into an environment rife with life's
injustices. The gift of life brings with it the tragedy of death.
By Tiffany Lewis
10
Books to Fit Your Mood
If you find yourself with inexplicable free
time, here are ten literary treasures to remind you that you are
a person as well as a mother.
By Tiffany Lewis
Living
with Boys
You
tell your boys scripture stories, and the only things they internalize
are the bows and arrows and knives and swords. You begin to edit
the Ammon-chopping-off-arms story.
By
Tiffany Lewis
I
Miss My Brain
Media law and ethics don’t
seem to help a bit in getting my son to stop his tantrum in the
Target checkout line. I need a crash course in Intro to Patience.
By
Tiffany Lewis
Fight of Flight
I've been conjuring in my mind the
dream airplane for children. Instead of magazines promoting personal
hot dog cookers, the seat back would be filled with Sandra Boynton
board books.
By Tiffany Lewis
Three’s
a Crowd
In having a third child, we have
one societal excuse. Most people assumethat we’re “going
for the girl,” as if having children were like playing in
the Super Bowl and you can't feel satisfied until your championship
ring is stamped with both genders.
By Tiffany Lewis
Life
is a Choking Hazard
In the very act of parenting, we
are bringing our children into a world of obstacles and pain,
and we simply can’t protect them every step of the way.
By Tiffany Lewis
The Rude
Science of Experimental Parenting
As parents, we want to put our best
foot forward. But sometimes it takes a lot of two-stepping just
to find that best foot.
By Tiffany Lewis
You Can’t
Judge a Book by Its Lover
I also can't bring myself to throw
away books, no matter how poorly written, but I will hide them
in obscure places. Somehow my son always manages to unearth these
tomes of terror.
By
Tiffany Lewis
My
Not-So-Private Life
I live the movie star life. I even
have my own pint-sized paparazzi. They dig through my trash, distract
me while I'm driving, and peer through my windows.
By
Tiffany Lewis
You’re a Good Mom
In trying to live up to my ideal
of a Mormon mom, I often forget that it is just that, an ideal.
And sometimes my kids have to remind me of this.
By Tiffany Lewis
The Toddler
Diet
As mothers, with all the goldfish
crackers and apple slices flying around, low carb is as feasible
as a solid night's sleep. No, there must be a diet tailor-made
for mothers of young children.
By Tiffany Lewis
A Year Gone By
In a year my son has learned to
roll over, sit up, spit up, chew chicken, pull his brother's hair,
search for hidden objects, hold his own bottle, and take a few
tentative steps. Can I say I've grown that much?
By Tiffany Lewis
The Christmas Quandary
Our house has four manger scenes
and no graven images of Santa Claus, but when my husband asked
our 2-year-old what Christmas is for, he replied confidently,
"Santa brings us presents!"
By Tiffany Lewis
Ode
to Bisquick and Other Thanks
Nothing piques a child's interest
more than a heavily muscled missionary chopping off a few arms.
By Tiffany Lewis
A
Jeep in Bethlehem
I used to drive past construction
sites oblivious and indifferent. But now I have a two-year-old.
He is a boy. This means his entire life is consumed by cars and
trucks.
By Tiffany Lewis
The
Case for Young Mothers
I love being a mother while I still
have an ounce of energy, while I still have most of my teeth,
and before the gray hairs set in.
By Tiffany Lewis
