Parenting

No matter how old your kids are, you will always be a parent. It’s a lifelong job.

Some kids leave the nest easily. Others struggle.

Part of emptying our nest may involve processing and moving past painful parenting. Been there. Done that. Got the broken heart to prove it. But life moves on. You CAN have a fulfilling life even if your relationships with your older children are painful, or they are broken and troubled.

This is a time to reflect on motherhood and how it has changed us.

Are you thinking about grandchildren? May we all be blessed with them. Let’s be Good Grannies to them.

Serve one another in love

Kids and Books

My last child turned 20! No more teens in the nest!

My Wise Son

Fighting children

God pursues His beloved children

The gift of challenges

Communication skills: Actively listening to your child

Embracing imperfection as a gift

How seeking perfection harms you and your children

How a young mom embraces imperfection

Teaching your kids to accept imperfection

Grace space, or judgment zone?

Teach your kids the value of giving this Christmas

Paying Allowances: To pay or not to pay?

Summer Reading Program

Feeling like a failure?

Are you inviting chaos?

Do I have to like my kid today?

Got kids who fight?

5 strategies for helping siblings get along

Here’s the solution for naughty school children

Talking about estranged adult children and some healing advice

11 ways to deal with having an estranged adult child

How estranged mothers can find acceptance and healing

How to deal with having an estranged adult child

Pity party days: What’s a mom to do when her heart is pierced?

5 things NOT to say to a mom in pain

When your adult child breaks your heart

My child is estranged

Anywhere but home: The motto of the wayward child

Mama, it’s going to be OK

Opening a vein: Talking about family trouble

When parenting is painful

How does a mom get through difficult times?

All you need is love

Searching for my new normal

Is your child discouraged?

Parenting Adult Children: 3 Decisions to Help Guide Your Conversations

Should you support your adult child?

Should adult children pay rent?

What Fall is Like in the Emptying Nest

Days of Small Things

Kids and Books

April Fool’s Day tricks to play on your child

How seeking perfection harms you and your children

How a young mom embraces imperfection

Teaching your kids to accept imperfection

Grace space, or judgment zone?

Defined by cancer?

Mom, get out of your frumpy clothes!

A mom’s journey

The High Price of Motherhood

So this is real mom life today

Where are you living?

More Mom Stuff

7 Things Mom really wants for Mothers Day

Motherhood and the Mind

Maternal Depression

Mom Life: My baby is 18

Valuing motherhood: Why I went from full-time lawyer to full-time mom

Valuing motherhood: Becoming a stay-at-home mom

Valuing motherhood: The realistic side of full-time motherhood

Valuing motherhood: Attachment theory

Valuing motherhood: Don’t need daycare

3 things moms do to mess up Christmas

Mama, it’s going to be OK

Mom Moving Forward

What do you love about your Mom?

A motherless mother on Mother’s Day

Reigniting Mom: Finding your mojo after mothering

Reigniting Mom: Motivating Your Mojo After MotheringHow does a mom get through difficult times?

A motherless mother on Mother’s Day

Perspective on Mothering

Big Picture/Little Picture

What to do when mothering is a mess!

One of those days

Are you a tired mama? Are you being listened to?

Lost and Found at Christmas

3 things moms do to mess up Christmas

For this child have I prayed

Feeling like a failure?

The Speed of Time

Swiftly flow the years

Outsourcing Life

A mom’s journey

Love your family

Mothering is a divine appointment

Abraham Lincoln

Eleanor Roosevelt

Pearl S. Buck on Mothering

Things that are wonderful about small children
What will you do with the grandkids?

Is adoption right for you?

The facts about adoption

What are the basic requirements if I want to adopt?

7 wrong reasons to adopt

6 things I’ve learned from adopting my children

Considering child adoption?

International child adoption

Child Adoption Resource Guide

Child Adoption: Basic requirements

2 Free Child Adoption Resources

Reconnected

November is National Adoption Month

The gift of challenges

Special Needs? Yes, you can homeschool!

Special Needs: ADHD

Special needs learning: Starting to figure it out

Special Needs: When homeschooling does not go smoothly

Special Needs: Every family looks different

Special needs: Is it legal to homeschool?

Special Needs: Is homeschooling the best?

Celebrating cerebrodiversity!

Special Homeschoolers

Heads Up! Homeschooling the challenging child

Special Needs Teaching Product Reviews

Kids and Books

How to beat your homeschooling fears

What I learned from homeschooling my kids

Homeschooling with Toddlers

Homeschooling 101: A guide to getting started

Homeschool Moms: How homeschool Dads can really help

Homeschooling: Why homeschool?

Special Needs: Is homeschooling the best?

Preschool Book List: Books for snowy days

A homeschooler responds to Trump’s voucher proposal – meh

There are no banned books in homeschools!

Christmas gift guide for homeschool moms

What about the little ones? Teaching-multi ages in the homeschool

Signs along the homeschooling journey

Feeling like a failure?

Who says homeschooled kids are nerds?

End of the year homeschool blues

Federal Tax Credits for Homeschoolers: Thanks, but no thanks

Handling irregular chores with kids

Teaching Life Skills for Kids

Life Skills for Kids: Children and chores

Life Skills for Kids: The importance of teaching life skillls

Life Skills: Kids and allowances

Paying allowances: To pay or not to pay

Life Skills List

Life Skills Checklists

Life Skills: Resume mistakes

Kids and Books

Merriment is Messy!

March Madness: Fun things to do with your kids until the weather warms

Family activities for April and May

Keeping kids busy with summer activities

Father’s Day DIY

Kids summer activities roundup

Easy Fall DIY Decor

A Dozen Easy DIY Halloween Costumes

Preschool Book List: Books for snowy days

Simple, Fun Kids Activities for Winter

Easy Easter Craft: Easter Egg Tree

Father’s Day DIY Gifts

Fall crafts and family fun

Pumpkin decorating ideas

Stress-free Halloween party planning

Low cost ideas for family fun!

Valentine’s Day Crafts for Older Kids

Valentine’s Day gifts for your kids

Fall crafts and family fun

Pumpkin decorating ideas

Stress-free Halloween party planning

Easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids

Have you been a wholehearted mother, but time, toddlers and teenagers have moved on? If you are wondering what comes next for you, you’ll feel right at home here.

Or, are you a mom for whom family life has been non-Pinworthy and parenting has been downright painful? I hear ya. There are many of us around.

Are you looking for a life full of exploration and adventure after the nest empties, but maybe you have no idea how to go about doing that? Stick around! We’ll explore adventures together to help you gain more clarity for your own path.

After a couple decades of writing books and articles about parenting, homeschooling and adoption, speaking to homeschoolers and other parent groups, and reaching out to the mom in the trenches who was trying to make the best of it - my kids grew up. Some grew up and grew away. I was determined to find a way out of the pain, emptiness and lack of direction.

For many of us, the journey starts with something we moms are not accustomed to. After years of caring for and serving others, sometimes we forget the beauty and wonder of US. We need to spend some time getting to know the parts of ourselves that have lain dormant, and take the time to explore interests and passions that we set aside.

I’d like to invite you to get the “What’s Next for Mom” workbook and jump into this growing tribe of Moms who are emptying the nest and filling the life! Let’s reignite your Mojo after Mothering!
Read More…

Real Mom Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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