After a lot of research, I decided to try the latest buzzword I had seen floating around. KETO.

My oldest child is nine and in fourth grade, so surely no one is talking about sex on the playground!?!  According to his response, no, they don’t talk about it *other* than this one time the girl said she hates that word.  In my head- “”  

I’m working on my baby steps to move my family in the correct direction. We might never be the family to enjoy homemade pancakes before school, but hopefully we can move away from, “Why haven’t you finished your cereal yet? Get back here and eat!”

One of my goals when I had children was to pass the love of travel and exploration to them. Little did I realize when I made that goal, traveling on an airplane with a child is not always easy. Three years later, I’ve tested ways to make travel easier.

I absorb it; my day is reflected in who I am. And I have found enormous satisfaction in life through the simplicity of sunshine.

I’ve decided to make smaller, incremental goals. These may seem mediocre, but this resolution of “chipping away” is saving my sanity and actually helping me feel more content with myself as I welcome the new year.

While my darling daughter has many positive qualities, keeping track of her belongings isn’t necessarily one of them. A few weeks had gone by, she was way behind on her reading … and her book was suddenly missing.

Octavia would meet someone new and want to draw them a picture or “make them a card.” When kindergarten started, the bus driver was the first recipient to whom my bubbly 5-year-old presented her with a piece of paper with crunchy, brown leaves taped to it.

Check out all the ways I have been failing at life, motherhood, wifehood, and more these days. Maybe you can relate!

While I was filled in on many things, there were still so many things that came as a surprise to me about having a baby.