Motherhood Challenges Need a Grit and Grace Life

Stop the Mommy Wars: Every Mom Is Doing Something Right – 045

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast, Motherhood

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreMoms want to put a label on everything, including themselves. Are you a crunchy mom? Free-range mom? Do you practice attachment parenting or grace-based? What do these even mean? In this episode, Darlene (who raised her daughters a couple of decades ago) and Julie (in the thick of it now) poke fun at themselves as they try to figure out what their styles would be called while they highlight the great parts of each style discussed. But no judgement here—we believe all moms are doing the best they can and deserve to be encouraged to find their own grit and grace along their motherhood journey. Viewing in […]

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This Is How to Work Hard and Still Be a Great Mom

By Ashley Vancil / Motherhood, Work & Money

It is possible to be a successful working mom and to still be a good mom. I have been the stay-at-home mom, but I am currently the mom who works full-time. Let me tell you, both are hard work and it is true: a mother’s work is never done. We are always on call. Here is how I have been able to get things done and still be present for my family when I am home. Planning is key! I have always been the person who must write everything down. It helps me to process and focus. If I know what I have coming up with work events, appointments, and meetings then I can compare and plan. I make sure I am

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This Is Why Family Dinners Don’t Have to Be Perfect

By Meaghan Dawson / Motherhood

You may or may not know this about me, but when I’m not here writing for Grit and Grace Life, I actually run a fun little faith-based food blog, which I know is a strange combo, but it works somehow for me. I’ve been doing this for years now, and I feel blessed that I get to combine my passions for cooking, writing, and sharing Jesus with people all over the world. When I got the wild hair to start this thing, I never imagined that it would grow the way it has, that my words would touch people and help people and maybe (hopefully) even make people laugh at my expense—because truthfully, I’m really quite ridiculous. Since starting my blog I’ve

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From One Mom to Another: How to Help Your Teen Mature

By Kim Spurlock / Motherhood

Parenting teenagers can be very challenging and stressful on all levels of the matter. I have been in the teenage phase for the past four years, and though it’s not always tough, there have been times where it has left me feeling exhausted, depleted, and downright insufficient to be a mom. My teenagers, as well as all teenagers on this planet, will deal with hormones, mood swings, wanting independence, and being an adult. These desires are not wrong by any means; it’s part of life, and we can help them get where they need to be. They are trying to find themselves and figure out this phase of life, and it’s tough for them and for us moms. Now I’m far, far

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This Is What I Do When My Child Has ‘Big Emotions’

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood

I lay down in bed with my daughter, snuggle close, and whisper, “Guess what? You have a superhero power.” The last 45 minutes have driven me to a state of sensory overload. The loud cries and tantrum-type behavior heightened by end-of-day depletion leave my nerves frazzled and on edge. The lines of communication blurred after my girl spouted off about something I asked her to do before getting ready for bed. I reacted in equal measures of frustration and disrespect, and shortly after, everything imploded. I’m ticked at her, but mostly at myself and the way I responded. I’m worn out; the sleepless nights are doing a number on me and on my headspace. I’m tempted to wave the white flag of

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If Your Daughter Is Boy-Crazy, You Need to Read This

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

My daughters entered life as different creatures when it came to the opposite sex. To one, the attention of boys meant a lot. The other, well, not so much. I can’t say what created the difference; perhaps just their personalities because they came from the same gene pool. You may have one of those girls—maybe your daughter is boy-crazy, too! Since I was never one who was boy-crazy, I found it quite perplexing, feeling uncertain how to address this new frontier. My eldest daughter just liked the attention of boys. She wasn’t necessarily attached to them. In fact, we often said she discarded boys as one does a tissue in allergy season. I often felt sorry for those young men who showed

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This Is What I Learned About Life After My Rape and Pregnancy

By Monique Jackson King / HerStory, Motherhood

In 2009, I was ending a relationship that had me completely mesmerized! I was involved with this man for the previous five years in what was called, by today’s standards, a “situationship.” In other words, I was madly in love with a man who had no intention of honoring our relationship with validity or legitimacy. Each of my close friends would ask me what our status was, and my standard answer was, “We’re taking it day by day.” In my heart, I knew this wasn’t the love that was designed for me, but I also did not want to let go of the good conversation, the companionship, the intellectual stimulation, or the familiarity that it provided. I allowed that fear to blind

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2 Reasons Why Tag Team Parenting Is the Way to Go

By Kitti Murray / Motherhood

Parenting, like marriage, starts out all theory. Which is why new parents, like new husbands and wives, can seem teachable. We read books, we seek advice, we ask questions. And then reality hits. I will be the first to admit that, as a new mom, I was not all that teachable in real life. It took me years, four sons, and countless small mothering disasters to realize how much help I really needed. Functional parenting is very different from the figurative version. The good thing about this seeming-humble to actual-humble journey is that I often had to do what I’ve observed healthy parents do: apologize to my kids when I blew it, while somehow managing to retain my role as The Mom.

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How to Reach Your Preteen When They’re Pushing You Away

By Laura Hurd / Motherhood

No matter where you’re at on the journey of parenting your preteen, we can all agree that it is hard. From navigating a new school to dealing with attitudes that have left me perplexed, the preteen years have offered many unexpected twists and turns. However, now that my ten-year-old is almost through his fifth-grade year, I have realized that even though there have been many changes, some of the ways I parent him have stayed the same. I’m learning that our kids will test their boundaries, but there are ways to stay connected to them even when they seem so far away… 1. Ask your preteen where they sit. Ever since elementary school, I got into the habit of casually asking my son

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When Is Enough Enough For Your Competitive Athlete?

By Amber Koehn / Motherhood

I am going to take a leap of faith and assume that every parent reading this wants the best for their children. Whether it’s in academia, music, sports, or other activities, we hope our children succeed, and we as parents will do whatever it takes to support them on their journey. Sometimes, that support involves a steep financial obligation or giving up family weekends to be at the ball fields. Other times, support is found in making difficult decisions involving our children’s physical and emotional well-being. My story involves the latter. It’s a story that centers around coaches of competitive youth sports. Now, for the most part, people who coach competitive sports are wonderful, encouraging folks. They understand the commitment the athletes (and

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Reality: Behind the Scenes of the Happy Adoption Photo

By Dawn Seabolt / Motherhood, Purpose

There are a whole lot of orphans in the world, and there is a big push for more parents to adopt. Adoption is a great thing and a worthy cause, but in our passion and desperation to find homes for children, I feel that we often tread closely to manipulation. Look at this happy adoptive family photo! You could do this for a child! Yes, you! All they need is a home and a family to love them! And yes, so many need homes and they all need love, but how often do we gloss over everything else that they need—an exorbitant amount of patience and a ridiculous amount of grace? They don’t trust adults; they don’t feel worthy of love; they test limits; they tell

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10 Chores Your Young Kids Can (and Should) Do

By Whitney Hsu / Motherhood

One of the things I’ve tried to establish early on in my parenting is my desire to raise responsible children who contribute to their community (be it their family, classroom, society, etc.). In our culture, this can be difficult. They’re busy, they want to watch TV, or they’re used to being told: “You’re too young to do that.” But I’ve found a few things that my kids can and should be doing to contribute to the housework load. Here are 10 chores most children can do around the home: 1. Help unload the dishwasher. My kids do their plastic dishes, their cups/bottles/all those parts, and all the silverware (not including sharp knives). I just ask whichever of them is around when I need

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To the Mom Who Has Postpartum Depression

By Megan Edwards / Motherhood

When I was young, I had this grand picture of what my life would be as an adult. This vision included a thin, fit woman wearing a professional suit to work on a daily basis, owning every room she walked into. She was happy, confident, powerful, financially comfortable, a great wife and an awesome mom who balanced everything happily and gracefully. Her house was always clean, and laundry was done. Making love with her husband was a priority. She always cooked and had hot meals ready for her family. And her faith was untouchable. She didn’t understand those other women who couldn’t balance. Why couldn’t they balance – life wasn’t that hard…right!? Then I got married, and real life started. I married

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That One Time I Thought I Was Being a Good Mom

By Kitti Murray / Motherhood

Here’s what your kids’ memories do with the times you thought you were a good mom, but you weren’t: They turn them into funny stories. That’s if you’re a good sport about it and—this is crucial—if you ask forgiveness as soon as your realize your mistakes, which, in my case, was often. I asked forgiveness in the moment for my losses of temper and other lapses in maternal conduct. And I asked forgiveness later when I had the perspective to know my general character and personality flaws probably did some damage. Forgiveness is important. It can almost turn you into a good mom. Almost. I have no accurate memory of this, but my sister and I love to tease my mom about

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How to Get Your Kids to Depend on You (Less)

Encouragement and Hope for a Single Mom

By Kim Spurlock / Motherhood

Single mom-hood, the hardest job ever but the most rewarding. The best way to give some insight on being a single mom is to be transparent and let you in on my journey. So with that being said, let me take you back a few years to January 21, 2014. This was just an ordinary day in my life, so I thought. Little did I know my whole world would be turned upside down and ripped apart. That night my journey as a single mom started when my husband of 11 years committed suicide, leaving me with two sons, ages 12 and five, and a 10-year-old daughter. Now all the details leading up to his death, well, that’s another story for another

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In Need of Mom Friends? 7 Ways to Reach Out

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood

Like a deer caught in headlights, I was blindsided when I became a mom. I found myself in the throes of mommyhood right after my husband and I moved from Honolulu to the heart of Dallas. It took months to build any sort of friendship and there was no one to bounce things off. I would often question every little thing I was doing pertaining to my daughter. I was almost positive I was messing up this new little life that had just been handed to me. Our family has grown, and we’ve made three more geographical moves since my oldest entered the world. With each new location, my deep need for a support system has remained the same even as seasons

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15 Ways to Care for Yourself When You Have a Child with Special Needs

By Geinene Carson / Motherhood

When your child has special needs, much of the day, and sometimes even the night, is spent taking care of someone extremely dependent upon you. A significant amount of energy and time is spent planning and strategizing to stay ahead of your child’s needs. Though I became almost intuitive in recognizing the signs and red flags of my own child’s health, I simultaneously became less in tune and downright negligent of my own. For the first few years of our daughter’s life, I did not manage my personal needs well, if at all. I dove into advocacy mode intensely and before I knew what hit me, I was suffering from sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, and physical health issues. What I didn’t realize, until

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