I had wonderful parents and I am grateful for everything they did for me. They both worked hard to provide for our family and although we did not have a lot financially, we never lacked anything we really needed. Here are a few of the many things they taught me. A strong work ethic I worked for my dad during college, and I can still hear him telling me there is never an excuse for standing around. There is always something else you can do. My dad worked harder than anyone I k

When you tell people that you are expecting your first child, they usually respond with congratulations, but my mother did not. When I told her I was pregnant she said, “Oh, no.” I was disappointed in her reaction until she explained that with four children of her own, she knew how taxing being a parent could be. I thought she was wrong until the baby came and my life changed forever. Nothing prepares you for what parenting is, the emotions, the need to have a psychology degr

Don’t you wish there was a foolproof guidebook for those tricky parenting moments? When I discovered I was pregnant, I read all the books and I thought I was ready, but I had no idea what a roller coaster experience I was going to have. I remember telling the doctor that I couldn’t get my daughter on a schedule. He tried not to laugh while he told me that babies make their own schedules. That was only the beginning of figuring everything out along the way. Most days I thought