Mommy of Many

This week I get ready for Thanksgiving and tackle the question of Santa. Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week I get ready for Thanksgiving and tackle the question of Santa. Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week I was able to talk to Trish Dooley for another installment of the Women and the Military Series. Trish is a retired Navy Chief, mother of two and retired military spouse. She shares what it's like to balance family, military career and supporting her husband's military career.  Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

There are many great ways to keep kiddos feeling connected with their deployed parent. In this show I share some of the things we've done. Thanks for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. Have a great show idea? Email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This show was originally posted after Kateri and JJ's first year away at school. Now, they are each headed away for their 4th years! We've learned a lot and gotten used to the changed dynamics of kids coming and going in the household.  Thanks for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~    

This show was originally posted after Kateri and JJ's first year away at school. Now, they are each headed away for their 4th years! We've learned a lot and gotten used to the changed dynamics of kids coming and going in the household.  Thanks for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

I'm reposting my Mother's Day show from 2008. Enjoy~ Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that each of you moms get a special day. If you don’t have any special events planned, be sure to spend a little time remembering some of your special mommy moments. Since it’s a Mother’s Day show, I decided to talk about a couple of “Mommy issues” I’ve encountered over my years as a mom. I give you permission to chuckle at me as you listen. Sometimes the things we end up doing as parents can be funny! Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com with your questions, comments and show ideas and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

I'm reposting my Mother's Day show from 2008. Enjoy~ Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that each of you moms get a special day. If you don’t have any special events planned, be sure to spend a little time remembering some of your special mommy moments. Since it’s a Mother’s Day show, I decided to talk about a couple of “Mommy issues” I’ve encountered over my years as a mom. I give you permission to chuckle at me as you listen. Sometimes the things we end up doing as parents can be funny! Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com with your questions, comments and show ideas and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week I talk about sarcasm and the importance of not using it with our small children.  Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. You can email your questions, comments and show ideas to Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week I talk about sarcasm. It's all around us and our children. The kids certainly learn to decipher the code of how sarcasm is used, but as small children, I think it's important that we stay away from using it. When children are young they need to be able to get a straight forward answer to their questions. Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. You can email your questions, comments or show ideas to Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week I was able to speak with Casey Sprague, a military spouse, mother of 3 and a successful Silpada Designs Independent Rep. I am inspired by Casey and her accomplishments. She started her business while her husband was deployed on an IA (Individual Augmentation) to Bahrain for 1 year. She's another shining example of the strength and resilience of military spouses. I hope you too are inspired by her story.   Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. You questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week I was able to talk with Pilar Hari, who is a military spouse, mother of 3 and the co-founder of Focus Families. I hope you enjoy her story of how the military has touched her life and the life of her family. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week's show is my take on the whole texting thing. I see where it comes in handy, but more and more it's becoming the way that our kids communicating with each other. I feel that kids who are younger than high-school age still need to build social and personal relationships before taking on the nuances of the language of texting. Being able to say things to people in the impersonal world of texting, where the tone and, often, meaning of your words can be misconstrued opens the door for kids to feel "safe" in saying things to each other that they wouldn't normally say person. I know that there are other arenas where this is also true, ie; email and IM, but it seems that texting is the preferred form of communication right now, so that's what I chose to focus on.  Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children 

This week's show is my take on the whole texting thing. I see where it comes in handy, but more and more it's becoming the way that our kids are communicating with each other. I feel that kids who are younger than high-school age still need to build social and personal relationships before taking on the nuances of the language of texting. Being able to say things to people in the impersonal world of texting, where the tone and, often, meaning of your words can be misconstrued opens the door for kids to feel "safe" in saying things to each other that they wouldn't normally say in person. I know that there are other arenas where this is also true, ie; email and IM, but it seems that texting is the preferred form of communication right now, so that's what I chose to focus on.   As always, I welcome your questions and comments. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~ 

In this week's show I talk about the importance of giving our children as much detail as possible when assigning them a task.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

In this week's show I talk about the importance of giving as much detail as possible when assigning tasks to our children.   Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. You questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

This week's show was inspired by a Change of Command and Retirement ceremony that I attended this week. It really touched me and reminded me of what this life of mine is about. There is truly nothing like a military ceremony! Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week's show was inspired by a Change of Command and Retirement ceremony that I attended this week. It really touched me and reminded me of what this life of mine is about. There is truly nothing like a military ceremony. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This show was originally recorded and posted in March of 2008. What a crazy week it was! Clay had just deployed, my grandmother had just passed away and I was celebrating Easter alone, with the kids. It's hard to believe that 2 years and an entire other deployment have passed since then. Here's what I had to say at the time; A blessed and joyous Easter to each of you! I hope it's a bright and beautiful day wherever you are. Here in Southern California, it's beautiful.    Well, if you follow my blog, you know that I've had a crazy week. I decided to take the time to talk a little about the emotions of going through saying good-bye to Clay and arranging to leave for my grandmother's funeral, just one day apart from each other. My kids did a great job of juggling having their dad leave AND having me take a whirlwind trip, while they stayed with a sitter. I want to say thank you to everyone who played a part in making it possible for me to go, while keeping the kids' schedules running smoothly. THANK YOU!   Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This Show was origionally recorded and posted in March of 2008. What a crazy week it was! Clay had just deployed, my grandmother had just passed away and I was celebrating Easter alone, with the kids. It's hard to believe that 2 years and an entire other deployment have passed since then. Here's what I had to say at the time; A blessed and joyous Easter to each of you! I hope it's a bright and beautiful day wherever you are. Here in Southern California, it's beautiful.   Well, if you follow my blog, you know that I've had a crazy week. I decided to take the time to talk a little about the emotions of going through saying good-bye to Clay and arranging to leave for my grandmother's funeral, just one day apart from each other. My kids did a great job of juggling having their dad leave AND having me take a whirlwind trip, while they stayed with a sitter. I want to say thank you to everyone who played a part in making it possible for me to go, while keeping the kids' schedules running smoothly. THANK YOU!   Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. You questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children

As parents, we need to remember to give positive physical contact to our older children as well as our little ones. When we have babies and toddlers, preschoolers and grade-schoolers, it seems to come naturally. But as the kids grow and stop coming to ask for hugs or to sit with us (or on us), we need to approach them and give them a hug at the end of the day or when they walk through the door after school. It can make a big difference in a teen or older child's attitude to just be hugged. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can subscribe to the show at iTunes and your feedback there is appreciated! You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

As parents, we need to remember to give positive physical contact to our older children as well as our little ones. When we have babies and toddlers, preschoolers and grader-schoolers, it seems to come naturally. But as the kids grow and stop coming to ask for hugs or to sit with us (or on us), we need to approach them and give them a hug at the end of the day or when they walk through the door after school. It can make a big difference in a teen or older child's attitude to just be hugged.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. Don't forget that you can subscribe to the show at iTunes and your feedback there is much appreciated! You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

In this show I talk about lesson # 3 in the Learning Lessons Series, which is that children of all ages need consistency. Over teh years I've seen that things run a lot smoother if the kids know what to expect. Surprises are great, but not in our everyday lives. We want to know what the routine is and so do the kids. Laying out a good routine for the kids has saved me from hearing a lot of yelling and whining.  Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

In this show I talk about lesson #3 in the Learning Lessons Series, which is that children of all ages need consistency. Over the years I've seen that things run smoother if the kids know what to expect. Surprises are great, but not in our everyday lives. We want to know what the routine is and so do the kids. Laying out a good routine for the kids has saved me from hearing a lot of yelling and whining.  Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This week, I expand on Lesson #2 of the Learning Lessons Series. From time to time I am able to enjoy the quiet and simple moments with the my kiddos. I have to remind myself that it's ok to spend a day at home, with nothing planned. The overriding message that's all around us, as parents is the "GO! DO!" While planning events with and for your children is not a bad thing, we can easily get overwhelmed with a full calendar and forget that spending a day in our own yard is enjoyable.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. You questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children. 

I decided to take the Learning Lessons Series of blog posts and turn them into a series of shows. It's always nice to be able to talk about a topic that I've written on because it gives me the chance to expand the idea.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

This is the 2nd part of my Q and A show. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.   Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

This is the 2nd part of my Q and A show. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send a question in.   Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children. 

I asked you to let me know what you'd like to hear about, what questions you'd like to ask me. I received some great, thought-provoking questions. Thanks! So, here are my answers.  Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com . Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children. 

I asked you to let me know what you were interested in hearing about, what questions you'd like to ask me. I received some great, thought-provoking questions. Thanks! So, here are my answers.  Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

This show was recorded soon after I attended the funeral of a 3rd grader at my children's school.  It touched me in a way that made me want to talk about it. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~ 

This show was recorded soon after I attended the funeral of a 3rd grader at my children's school. It touched me in a way that made me want to talk about it.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Childen~

10 years ago Clay and I had the awful experience of losing a baby to miscarriage. We had 5 healthy and beautiful children at the time which made the whole experience completely unexpected. The healing process was long and rocky. We learned a lot from that little baby that never spoke to us. I felt like the 10 year mark was a good time to share what we learned and some of the good resources for those that are looking for support. The 2 websites mentioned in the show today are;  Americanpregnancy.org and miscarriagesupport.org Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions and comments are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children. 

No is a powerful tool and as parents I feel that we need to fell confident in using it to set limits for our children, even when it means that we go against all the hype happening around us. It can be hard to stand firm, but I feel that it's crucial so that our children learn to appreciate the true gifs in life.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. And until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children. 

I sat down with my oldest daughter after she'd been away at school for a few months to find out how she feels about being the oldest of a large family and how it feels to have been away at school.  This show was recorded in early '08.  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the website. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. Until next time, I'll be here Doing the Dance of the Children~

With a house full of kids ranging in age from toddler to teen, the dynamics can get interesting and tricky. Thank you for listening to the show. You can find my blog at MommyofMany.com. Your questions and comments are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

With a house full of kids ranging in age from toddler to teen, the dynamics can get interesting and tricky. Thank you for listening to the show. You can find my blog at MommyofMany.com. Your questions and comments are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

A recap of 2007 and a look forward into all that 2008 was to hold. As always, questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can find my blog at MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

Christmas is almost here! It's always an exciting time at our house. The kids enthusiasm and excitement make it magical. I talk about our family's Christmas traditions and remember the Christmas that was most touched by our military lifestyle. Thank you for listening to the show and visiting the website. Your questions and comments are always welcome. Have a show idea? Let me know! You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com. Don't forget to subscribe to the show. Until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children~

I've used the Morning Memo as an important tool to keep the family informed of the day's plan and for any extra chores that may need to be given out. It's been a great way to communicate to everyone and keep us all connected and on track. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

In this show I talk about the importance of making lists before hitting the stores for your holiday shopping. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting MommyofMany.com. You questions and comments are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

Happy Easter! We've had a beautiful day. It was important for us to share this holiday as a family because we will all be apart for the next year. We've tried to make the most of it and are exhausted from the prep and the celebration! I hope you've each had a wonderful day! Thank you for listening to the show! Your show ideas, questions and comments are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

Happy Easter! We've had a beautiful day. It was important for us to share this holiday as a family because we will all be apart for the next year. We've tried to make the most of it and are exhausted from the prep and the celebration! I hope you've each had a wonderful day! Thank you for listening to the show! Your show ideas, questions and comments are always welcome. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

I'm finally able to get to the computer to get a show out! Hooray! This surgery really kicked me harder than I thought it would. After 2 weeks in bed and another week of barely making it through each day, I'm ready to talk about it. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the site. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children!

I'm finally able to get to the computer to get a show out! Hooray! This surgery really kicked me harder than I thought it would. After 2 weeks in bed and another week of barely making it through each day, I'm ready to talk about it. Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the site. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children!

Whew! This has been a BIG couple of days! I wanted to get in and share what's happening with me. However, I realize that the numbers on the shows are going to appear out of order. I'm still working on getting those missing shows up. I'll get back to that soon. Also, the 2nd part of the "Moms and New Babies" show will have to wait. It's time to talk "Change". After 21 years of pregnancies and new babies, I'm facing a new phase in my life. In mere days, I will be having a hysterectomy. If you've gone through this and have words of wisdom, I'd love for you to share! Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the site. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome. Until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

I found out that it's best to let things happen as they will! It can't always go as planned! Thanks for listening to the show and for visiting the site. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

This week I get to have my friend and partner in crime, Casey, with me. We're talk about the Smoke and Mirrors that we both use to make everything appear done and fabulous. Come on, we all do it! Have a great "Smoke and Mirrors" moment to share? You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

This week I get to have my friend and partner in crime, Casey, with me. We're talk about the Smoke and Mirrors that we both use to make everything appear done and fabulous. Come on, we all do it! Have a great "Smoke and Mirrors" moment to share? You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com. Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

It's Thanksgiving!  What better time to remember the blessings in our lives.Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the site.  Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children.

It's Fall!  One of my favorite times of the year!  Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the site.  Your questions, comments and show ideas are always welcome and until next time, I'll be here, Doing the Dance of the Children