“You’re going to speak French to the baby, right?” I would hem and haw and eventually agreed to it. Well, why would one hesitate? It’s a gift! You’re giving the gift of speaking and understanding a language! The benefits to your brain!

My goal is always to see the holiday season as a magical time – to see the holidays through a child’s eyes. And perhaps one of the greatest and most magical parts of the holiday season is that of the Christmas tree.

The annual Red Kettle Campaign goes a long way toward making sure families in need can still have a merry Christmas, says Robert J. Mueller, the Salvation Army’s greater Green Bay area coordinator. “As less fortunate families struggle to keep food on the table and roofs over their heads, we believe coming alongside these families during this time of year will matter.”

Someday, my daughters won’t pronounce “spoon” as “foon” anymore. Someday, they might not want to sing loudly for an hour. Someday, my son will be running through the house on his way to wrestling practice (yes, my husband made me choose that specific sport) rather than trying to play in the toilet.

“I can’t believe you’re being so MEAN!” our 11-year-old daughter told my husband and me. “You guys are the Fun-Killers!” Yep. That’s us. Mr. & Mrs. Fun-Killer.

I did not grow up in a hunting family, and frankly, venison was an acquired taste. After 16 years of experimentation, I’ve learned to “hide” the flavor. To celebrate the kick off of rifle season, here’s my open face venison steak & onion sandwiches.

Before the kids, my husband and I did everything together. We went out to eat, saw concerts, stayed up late watching movies, and traveled. I would have characterized our marriage as “easy.” Then we had kids.

A few years back, I had one of my most memorable “mean mom” moments. We have a rule that each morning, the boys are to clean their room. For a few months, they started pushing back and playing with toys instead of cleaning up.

That’s why I have been using Hyland’s since my children were babies. Hyland’s brand has been serving all ages and ailments for over a century, and they do it without all of the chemicals and additives of their leading competitors.

No one is perfect. No mom or child is kind 100% of the time. But I feel like if I can keep these 3 things in mind, my kids will be kind most of the time. And when they’re not, they’ll hear my voice in their head tell them, “That wasn’t a kind way to behave. Can you try again, please?”