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Julie Cole

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In Parenting

Realistic Resolutions for Busy Parents

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I’m a big believer in just doing your best. It’s enough. You don’t need to train for a marathon. You don’t need to lose the baby weight. You don’t need to make perfect meals every day, and you are most certainly allowed to make mistakes. These are a few realistic goals that might help you feel good about your parenting in 2024. Give up the mom guilt. I did this five kids ago because guilt did not serve me. It is not proactive and reliving something I feel bad for over and over in my head is not helpful. Instead, just apologize, learn and move on. It also teaches your kids that mistakes are OK and normalizes apologies. Do something for you. It doesn’t have to be huge, but it does show your family that you value yourself and your time. They might just need this reminder. Boundaries and Battles.…

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In Parenting

What To Do When Your Kids Stop Believing in Santa

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Eventually, the time comes for every parent when their kids start questioning the existence of Santa Claus. It marks the end of a huge era for a lot of families, which is inevitable but always sad regardless. As a parent, how do you deal with your kids’ disappointment as they start to figure out the truth? My kids are older and mostly non-believers now, though some will never admit it. Having gone through it six times with each of my children, I’ve learned a few things over the years about dealing with the sadness over Santa Claus. How to handle the Santa talk – each child is different! Depending on your kid, the timing of what and when they start questioning Santa can differ greatly. Some don’t question Santa for a very long time, I had that child. He’s on the autism spectrum and takes things literally. To his mind…

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In Seasonal

When Are Kids Too Old for Trick-or-Treating?

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Halloween is just around the corner, and with it comes the annual question: what age is too old for trick-or-treating? The debate continues year after year, and I often hear, “Teens shouldn’t be trick-or-treating.”  As a mother of six tweens/teens, I firmly believe that there is no age limit to enjoying the holiday spirit. In fact, to those people, I say, get over it. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that Halloween is just for little kids. But the truth is, teenagers are still growing up and exploring their identities. Dressing up in costumes and going door-to-door for treats is a fun and harmless way for them to do just that. And let’s face it, who doesn’t love a good piece of candy? Of course, there are some concerns that come with older kids trick-or-treating. Some worry that they might be too scary or intimidating to younger…

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In Pregnancy

The Perfect Baby Shower Gift: What to Consider

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A baby shower, a sprinkle or even a sip-and-see; call it what you will etiquette states they’re generally gift giving events. While showers can be bursting with love for a new mom, they are also a tricky social event to maneuver. It’s important to remember, all mothers are not created equally. If there is no shower registry (like this ideal list) or you decide to go rogue and avoid the registry there are a few considerations to be made when finding the perfect baby shower gift. The personality of the new parents. If mom is the sentimental type, you may look at a more traditional gift or keepsake. If she’s the fashionista Instagram mom, cute matching outfits will be loved. The more practical moms (raises hand) might rather have everyone pitch in for a good stroller, a baby carrier, or even cases of diapers!   Never underestimate the gift of help!…

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In Parenting

Julie Cole’s 2022 Mom Fails

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It is a long-standing tradition in our family, that I publicly share my annual round up of “Mom Fails” on the blog. They usually include things like forgetting to pick a kid up from the airport, dropping a kid off at the wrong hockey arena, and the usual things busy moms do. I always ask the kids what tops the list, and they are more than happy to share their ideas. For my top 2022 Mom Fails include: Going to high school parent teacher interviews wearing my pants inside out AND backwards. I remembered it was interview night about 10 minutes before my first appointment, so that is probably another fail and could explain my outfit. The MOMENT I walk in my house from the outside world, I immediately take off my “hard pants” (also known as jeans) and put on my track pants. I quickly threw on some cargo…

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In Mom Moments

What Moms Really Want For Christmas

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Moms are busy. We lead hectic lives juggling the needs of other people. This holiday season, if you want to really make the mama in your family feel special, consider the following gifts: TIME  Time is precious, and moms don’t have enough of it. So how can you give her time? There are several ways: A meal service. Take a task away from her or make it easier. I recently had a HelloFresh box arrive at my house and I couldn’t have been happier. All the ingredients and easy to follow recipes made for a meal that my entire family loved. If you have not considered this service, now’s the time. This busy mama’s quality of life increased significantly once I discovered HelloFresh A cleaning service. Although keeping the house clean should be a family affair, the stress of it often lands on mom. Buying a family gift of having a…

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In Mom Moments

Keeping our Kids Humble

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I love that my kids are confident. I love that they’re kind and they’re successful. But it’s important through all of it to keep them humble. I saw this come across my social media feeds, and it triggered a few feelings about staying humble and teaching our kids the same—especially these days with positive parenting. Of course, we want to be gentle and positive parents, but too much telling them they’re brilliant isn’t positive, because are they? Or are they just the same as everyone else, no better- no worse, just different. Value them I don’t think we have to make our kids feel like they are the most extraordinary creatures that ever existed. Instead, we should have conversations and show that we value them for who they are and what they’re passionate about. But, again, it doesn’t have to be spectacular. They are just humans – as incredible and,…

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In Mom Moments

Four Lessons I Learned When Covid Turned Up

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We had an unwanted visitor over the holiday season, a couple of my kiddos got the dreaded Covid. No matter how hard we worked on following protocol and how safe we felt we were being, at the end of the day, it was only a matter of time. This uninvited visitor over-stayed it’s welcome and put a damper of the Holiday season. But like every bummer of a situation, we learned something from it. Here are a few things I learned from covid: No point in pointing fingers: When the first kid in our family tested positive, the siblings turned into detectives in hopes of discovering who the original source was. Their witch-hunt came up empty, and no one could be burned at the stake for being “Patient Zero”. Our family followed all the protocols and did nothing wrong.  I understand wanting to know the source to mitigate spread, but…

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In Mom Moments

Mom Fails 2021; Trolling My Teens and Other Parenting Mishaps

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My yearly round-up of Mom Fails is a bit of a tradition. They were a mix of funny ones and real regrets/lessons learned in the early days. As my children get older, I find some of my “Mom Fails” are more like “Mom Trolls.” Those of you who have teenagers can surely appreciate and relate to how easy and enjoyable it is to see them cringe. This year it is a mix of “whoopsies” and cringe-worthy moments. Accidentally letting the 12-year-old watch Sex Education. If you have not seen this series yet, it’s pretty racy at times. I thought I’d go to sleep watching the last few episodes of the first season. I promptly fell asleep, to which my friends commented, “only Julie could fall asleep during Sex Education!” Regardless, once I dozed off, 12-year-old Fin crawled into bed with me and proceeded to watch the last three episodes. When…

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