As wives, we hear it all the time. Don’t let yourself go. We’re constantly fighting the battle against the frump and the baby fat. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but how often do we step back and think to ourselves that we might be fighting against the wrong thing? As someone who has been on both sides of that battle, I find that a raggedy outside is usually a … [Read more...]
Three Things Your Pregnant Wife Needs to Hear
Pregnancy is rewarding, but it also can be extremely hard. Crazy hormones, swollen feet, nausea and fatigue can be rough on a woman’s mind, body and, subsequently, a marriage. As a husband, it might feel like you can never get it right, at least I’m sure it did for mine at times. But there are a few things that your pregnant wife may need to hear more often to help keep your … [Read more...]
Three Surprising Marriage Lessons Learned from a Newborn
Almost three months ago I gave birth to my third baby. He hasn’t been in the world for a full quarter, but he’s already teaching me some important life lessons. Without even knowing or trying, just by being a baby, my little boy is teaching me how to be a better spouse through things like… The way that he smiles - Even when he is responsible for some of my roughest nights, … [Read more...]
4 Parenting Lessons I’ve Learned from Having a Teen and a Newborn
Within the last month, I gave birth to my third child and watched my eldest graduate from middle school. Although I have moments of feeling all the way crazy for starting over again, parenting a baby with the perspective of having a child who’s all the way at the other end of childhood is a bit of a gift. As a brand new mother, having an issue and hearing someone say … [Read more...]
How to Prepare for a New Baby When You Thought You Were Done Having Kids
After two children, now ages 5 and 14, my husband and I declared the baby factory shut down, boarded up the windows and gave anything baby related to friends or thrift shops. And then I found out I was pregnant. After experiencing every emotion from shock to happiness to excitement to dismay, we needed to answer the question, what next? How do we prepare for another baby … [Read more...]
I Was Mary Jane; Why I Settled for Being the Side Chick
For years I’ve gone back and forth about whether I should write this post, but every time I thought to put this story on paper, I changed my mind. As a writer, it’s tempting to share the shiny side, those stories where my faith, level-headedness and good-decision making skills prevail. But if I’m going to share the glowing stories about myself, I have to do the hard work of … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Why You Should Celebrate Valentine’s Day, Anyway
Why is Valentine’s Day a big deal? Isn’t it just a made up holiday? Shouldn’t we be showing our love for each other every day? For a holiday that’s supposed to be all about love, after tax time, Valentine’s Day seems to be the one holiday that’s the most hated. Whether it’s a single person for whom the day serves as a reminder of heartbreak, or a couple that wonders “what’s … [Read more...]
25 Ways to Touch Your Spouse All Day Long
Recently I read a question from a wife who was annoyed by her husband’s groping her. Whether he was doing it with slaps on the backside or groping her body in other ways, the fondling that seemed to be a turn on for her husband was turning her all the way off. She wasn’t entirely turned off by her husband’s desire to touch her. But she was turned off by the fact that the … [Read more...]
How I Appreciate and Value My Husbands Role as a Father
For the last few weeks, the article “ Six ways single mothers can raise a sorry black man” by Dr. Boyce Watkins has been circulating the web. With a title like that, of course the post hasn’t come without controversy. I agree with Dr. Watkins that things like coddling, allowing laziness and rewarding “playa” behavior will result in a sorry man. I believe this is not just … [Read more...]
Death at the Hands of a Boyfriend: 3 Things I Did to Keep My Kids Safe While Dating
Last week, the world was crushed to learn of the tragic death of Minnesota Viking’s running back Adrian Peterson’s two-year-old son at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend. Joseph Robert Patterson, 27, allegedly caused injuries that lead to the child’s death while the mother left the child with Patterson for a short period of time. The child’s mother had recently begun dating … [Read more...]
Men: Three Signs You’re in Need of an Underwear Upgrade
When it comes to undergarments, ladies are typically the ones getting the pressure to keep it sexy under their clothes. To keep your man interested, you are told that the underwear are supposed to be cute, even if that cute comes at the expense of comfort. Men, on the other hand, seem to get an underwear pass. In all fairness, men’s underwear tend to come with a lot fewer … [Read more...]
Why I Believe that Soul Mates Don’t Exist
Recently I’ve had more than one conversation or debate about finding your soul mate and whether most people were actually waiting for “the one." I personally hope that most people aren't waiting around for their soul mate, because I don't believe that soul mates exist. Now I will readily admit, I am not always the most romantic lady in the room. I will take a thriller over a … [Read more...]
Should Parents Embarrass Kids Online as Discipline?
After a 13-year-old girl was caught lying about her age, and several other things about her identity, her parents posted this video in which they expose their daughter for who she actually is rather than the 16-year-old vixen she claims to be. In the video, they question their daughter about all of the lies she has been posting online, including lying about her age, sexual … [Read more...]
Three Burning Questions About Men That No One Can Answer
I want you to know that I am not one to typically lump men into a category of “all men.” I don’t entertain those questions like “why do men cheat” or “why do men lie.” I think the world would be a better place if we didn’t act like those behaviors are universal and that the answers are one-size-fits-all. Plus men aren’t the only ones who do those things, so it’s unfair to make … [Read more...]
Today My Heart Aches: Thoughts on the Trayvon Martin Case from the Mother of a Little Black Boy
Today my heart aches. My heart doesn’t just ache for a boy in Florida named Trayvon. Amongst the outrage against the verdict in the Zimmerman case is the quieter question of why we’ve focused on one Trayvon, when dozens of Trayvons die daily in streets across America killed by the hands of their own. The answer is that we know that America isn’t going to pay attention … [Read more...]