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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; parenting</title>
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	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>O: Odor &#8211; What It&#8217;s Really Like</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/o-odor-what-its-really-like/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/o-odor-what-its-really-like/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2015 14:04:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Brody]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food/Drink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home/Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[ABCs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Did you Fart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dirty Deeds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dirty Jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dunder Chief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Like Father Like Son]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Odor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Smell Test]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=9272</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This post is part of a series titled, “A-B-Cs – What It’s Really Like”. Each week a new letter and its word will be revealed. Each word’s explanation will illustrate significant personal meaning, application and ultimately demonstrate, What It’s Really Like…  Did you fart?? These are the famous last words of parents with children under the age of five before discovering the source of a particularly pungent smell. This statement is usually uttered while driving down the road or while settling in the living room to watch a little late evening TV. If you are a parent you know the job can be smelly business. I am still waiting for Mike Rowe to do an episode of Dirty Jobs on the occupation of parenting. Our house possesses no shortage of a variety of smells. Some days are better than others. It usually is a balance somewhere between locker room, gourmet kitchen, waste water treatment plant and field full of wildflowers. Like Father, Like Son Unfortunately, my oldest son has inherited his parents feet. His feet are wide like mommy’s and stinky like daddy’s. Since he is growing so quickly we usually elect to buy him shoes that are an off-brand to save money. I am not sure if the lower grade material amplifies the smell or that his feet stink that much. Living in the south produces challenges on its own with high humidity and high average temperatures. You can imagine the stench that is produced when a sweaty preschooler removes his shoes in the back of a car after playing hard for an hour in the July Georgia heat. *Author’s note &#8211;   Although he has been running around the house today without shoes on, my son just ran by and crop dusted me on the way to the “potty” as I was sitting here typing this post.  Trash Tricks Another problem that poses itself in the southern heat is the trash. During the summer months my wife and I have to strategize the week’s menu based upon its “smell factor” by which it decomposes in the trash can. I can always count on having chicken on Tuesday or Wednesday leading up to trash day on Thursday to shorten the life of the horrendous rotting odor that is emitted with discarded chicken scraps. Typically perfectly cooked chicken can turn over in less than eight hours in the southern summer months. Fallen Soldiers Leftover snacks, juice/milk sippy cups and fallen foodstuffs all leave an undesired wasteland in family vehicles. Some of the items are immediately found others are discovered later when the real catastrophic mess happens. Usually by then the damage has been done and the smell has made itself permanent. One of the most difficult things to do is to keep a car clean with a toddler and a newborn. This is near impossible to accomplish this feat in the interior of a newer car. Tack on a wife who has the family nickname, “Puddles” and you could have yourself a real problem. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap I used to have a roommate in college who thought the lyrics to this ACDC song were, “Dirty deeds and the Dunder Chief”. After he was called out on his lyrical snafu, some of my college friends actually considered dressing up as the Dunder Chief for Halloween. After much debate and many adult beverages, the costume idea died after no one could decide on what the great Dunder looked like. That story reminds me of another fine skill that I learned in college, The Smell Test. You can only imagine the types of smells coming out of an all-male college apartment. (Let’s not omit the other gender population. Ladies, I have been in plenty of all-female college apartments 10-times as nasty as our little hole. I will not pass judgment or gender discriminate. In elementary school learned about Santa and in college I learned that girls are not sugar and spice and everything nice.)  The dominating odors that I recall lofting through my college apartment were a delicate perfume blend of stale beer, rotting pizza, Hawaiian Breeze Plug-ins and musk. Somewhere in the barrage of college life, hopefully one does laundry. During the hustle and bustle of a college week, laundry comes and goes and most of it rarely gets put away. Laundry does not come with a born on date so it is often difficult to know its shelf life. This is especially true if you were anything like a typical college student that when it came time to do laundry chances are you took a truckload of it home with you to your parents’ house every four weeks or so. It was there on campus that I perfected the smell test with the motto, “When in doubt, sniff it out”. The Smell Test has become an important attribute of fatherhood as it can signify a diaper change, time of death of a fallen soldier (see above) or when a toddler DIY post-#2 “all by myself” wipe might not have been mission accomplished. Parenting requires the versatility of steady nose and the ability to breathe out your mouth. “Where Did That Come From?!” Potty training your toddler will cause your nose perk up and ask, “Where did that come from?” and your eyes ask, “WHERE DID THAT COME FROM???” Flatulence, bowel movements, “tee-tee”, formula burps, spit up, projectile vomit, snot waterfalls  – parenting is not for the faint of heart or the non-iron stomached. In high school, my brother’s friends could make our friend Mike almost instantaneously vomit just by making gagging gestures and barfing noises. Today he is the father of two beautiful children. I am still not sure how he persevered during the “bodily fluid years”. I will never forget on a recent road trip home for Thanksgiving with my first born son. We drove straight through the night so that he would be asleep for most of the trip. Around the beginning of rush hour we were making our way through Cincinnati, Ohio.  While maneuvering in and out of traffic at 75 miles-per-hour my wife and I hear a gurgling sound from the backseat that was surprisingly louder than the car radio. She and I looked at one another wide eyed and turned around.  We knew that the enormous amount of dairy that he had just consumed at the hotel continental breakfast (milk and yogurt) was about to appear in the backseat. Nearly three seconds later there was a milky shower pouring in, out and over his car seat. The sour odor of dairy by-product immediately filled the warm interior of my car that had its heat blasting to take the chill off from outside. After several treatments with carpet cleaner and Febreze, I resorted to covering nearly my entire backseat with baking soda. I rode around for the next month and a half until the remedy finally conquered the smell. Absolutely awful. Take it from me, as a parent of two boys and after changing an infinite number of diapers I now know exactly what the Dunder Chief looks like (and smells like).]]></description>
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		</item>
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		<title>Let Kids Be Kids!!!</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/let-kids-be-kids/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/let-kids-be-kids/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2015 09:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ashley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Style/Beauty]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bullying]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Dirt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dirty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[explore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get dirty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[let kids be kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Little Girl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Playing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Playing Outside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sweat]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6256</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you can, think back to your younger years, maybe when you were grade school age, or even younger if you can. What were you like? Did you have fears and worries and doubts or anxiety?? Kids can be cruel. Let&#8217;s face it, adults can be cruel too. The world isn&#8217;t by any means a perfect place, it&#8217;s far from it. But as a parent, you want to try to instill good morals and selflessness and sensitivity. You want your child to be kind to others, to not make fun of another kid because of their clothes, toys, or choices even. Often times we hear about kids getting bullied in school or kids committing suicide because they had no friends, nobody who understood them or cared enough to try to get to know them. It&#8217;s sad! I have an almost 3 year old daughter and she loves princesses, but she also loves getting dirty, and sweaty and running around covered in filth and food. She almost always has stains on her clothes because she likes to get into things, she likes to &#8216;help&#8217; her daddy fix things (which usually ends up with her covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises). And you know what?! I&#8217;m fine with that. I&#8217;m okay with the way she is. She&#8217;s happy, outgoing, lovable, kind-hearted, sweet, selfless, hysterical, and most of all&#8230;she&#8217;s my daughter. &#8230;she likes to &#8216;help&#8217; her daddy fix things (which usually ends up with her covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises). And you know what?! I&#8217;m fine with that. I&#8217;m okay with the way she is. Normally when we take her places, within 5 minutes she is covered in sweat, her face is beat red, and her clothes are barely hanging onto her body. She&#8217;s amazing and adventurous! I love the life in her eyes and the gentleness of her soul. To me, she&#8217;s perfect. But there are still those people that make comments. I have had people refer to her as a &#8216;hobo&#8217; because of how she&#8217;s dressed. They&#8217;ve said she looks like she belongs &#8216;in a trailer park&#8217; because she was outside, in just a diaper, and someone told her she was a &#8216;hot mess&#8217; because she was sweaty and wearing raggedy, dirty play clothes from Wal-Mart that were covered in food of some sort! In what world do people think it&#8217;s alright to speak to a not even 3 year old like that, let alone a little girl?! Self esteem can be broken so easily. It really angers me and even breaks my heart to know that one day I&#8217;m going to have to answer some pretty tough questions from her and I pray to God that I can be strong enough to be honest with her and at the same time sensitive to the subject at hand. I pray that we will raise her right and she will be strong enough on her own to stand on her own two feet and know that people sometimes say hurtful things that aren&#8217;t true. They&#8217;ve said she looks like she belongs &#8216;in a trailer park&#8217; because she was outside, in just a diaper, and someone told her she was a &#8216;hot mess&#8217; because she was sweaty and wearing raggedy, dirty play clothes from Wal-Mart&#8230; I, of course, do not know what the future holds, but I pray for the future of ALL of our children. That they be kind and wise in their words and actions and that their parents teach them the difference between right and wrong. And parents, even though a child may not fit into your perfect mold that you have set, please also be kind with your words and actions and consider that child&#8217;s feelings before saying such hurtful things. Just let kids be kids!! It&#8217;s okay!!]]></description>
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		<title>Why Millennials Have a Bad Reputation</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/why-millennials-have-a-bad-reputation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/why-millennials-have-a-bad-reputation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:00:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sara Brennan]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dream job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entitled]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entitlement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Millennials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Need]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Open Dialogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Study]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Want]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=7186</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Millennials seem to have a bad rap. Many, especially baby boomers, tend to say they walk this planet with a sense of gotta-have-it-now entitlement and a lack of work ethic. They&#8217;ve also been referred to as lazy, addicted to social media, and carefree. But is this really the case, and if so, is it their fault? In my opinion, millennials didn&#8217;t really have a choice. They were born into a &#8220;everyone gets a ribbon&#8221; world and they&#8217;ve always been taught that it&#8217;s okay to lose, as long as you tried your best. While trying your best is a childhood lesson that should be instilled on all the youth of America, I believe that taking away that burn from losing, or not coming first, did a disservice to these children (now young adults). Millennials were also brought up to believe they should &#8220;follow their passion&#8221; and that they could &#8220;be anything they wanted to be&#8221;, which again, is a great lesson to be taught under the right circumstances. But, telling children they can accomplish &#8220;whatever they put their mind to&#8221; isn&#8217;t great advice unless you&#8217;re willing to back that up by coaching them to see the value in hard work, putting them through the school of hard knocks, forcing them to earn what they want, and teaching them that sometimes you do fail. Are the parents of these millennials to blame? I don&#8217;t think so. It seemed to be a &#8220;thing&#8221; or a &#8220;trend&#8221; that parents were following lead by child psychologists, daytime TV, magazines, and talkshows such as &#8220;Oprah&#8221; and parents were just doing what they thought was best for their kids. Parents of millennials wanted to put their children in a protective &#8220;bubble&#8221;, never allowing anyone to hurt their feelings or make them feel &#8220;bad&#8221;. Of course we don&#8217;t ever want our kids to feel sad or bad, but sometimes there are life lessons that come from skinning your knee or being pushed down by a mean kid at school. With all that being said, I don&#8217;t think anyone &#8220;messed up&#8221;, however I think it put these young adults in a situation where they have a lot of catching up to do. It&#8217;s funny, because I&#8217;m sitting here writing this thinking, &#8220;&#8230;By definition, I AM a millennial&#8221;, but when I compare myself to other millennials, especially those much younger than me, I see many trends and personality traits that I somehow don&#8217;t have. I don&#8217;t think I personally am the &#8220;typical&#8221; millennial kid, but don&#8217;t take that as an arrogant thing to say. I have my own faults and things I wish I did differently growing up, but I just don&#8217;t see myself sharing many of the traits I&#8217;ll mention in this article. So do you want to know what I REALLY think of millennials, the traits they possess, and what I think they need to do to get &#8220;caught up&#8221;? Read on. Millennial Traits Explained:  1. Millennials Want Everything RIGHT NOW! Yes, they do, but they&#8217;ve grown up that way. This generation grew up with personal computers, Google, internet, and mobile phones. My goodness, they CAN get everything right now! This is great because they&#8217;ll never have to visit a library ever again, but it also means they have no idea how to use a glossary or table of contents of a book, the Dewey Decimal System at libraries, or how to appropriately craft a &#8220;works cited&#8221; page for their research papers. How do you explain to a millennial that Wikipedia is not legit? They don&#8217;t get it! Believe me, I saw this first hand as a middle school teacher. 2. Millennials Want a the Dream Job STRAIGHT Out of College. Their parents told them, if you go to college you can do anything you want. Yes, this is pretty true, but something crazy happened between the years that their parents went to college and these millennials did &#8230; everyone started going to college! Now a college degree is the norm and you need to have A LOT of extra stuff outside of just having that degree to look appealing to companies who are hiring. Gone are the days of breezing into your favorite school or job because you have a 4.0 GPA. Aside from excellent grades, extracurricular activities, volunteer hours, sports, band, musicals, languages spoken, and academic teams are becoming requirements to get into colleges and universities and more importantly, to get that &#8220;dream&#8221; job. While in college you must study hard, get good grades, continue with the liberal-arts lifestyle, and oh yeah, you need to find a way to get (say it with me) &#8220;work experience&#8221;! Yes, you must actually prove that you can get, hold, and keep a job before companies are willing to offer you one. How do you go about doing this? You work! You take time away from hanging out with your friends and you replace it with a crappy, pay-your-dues kind of job. It&#8217;s not always fun, but it gives you experience OUTSIDE of the classroom, which is invaluable in this day and age. The real world is REAL and it will come knocking, so as millennials (and parents of millennials), it is in our best interest to get our ass into a part-time job and get some experience! 3. Millennials Are After the &#8220;Experience&#8221; (and I don&#8217;t mean work experience). As I mentioned before, this generation was brought up where the losing team still gets a trophy and that it&#8217;s the &#8220;experience&#8221; that mattered most. This is not always the best approach. Kids need to learn that failure is a part of life and I believe the earlier we squash this, the better. When I look back at my own life, I think I&#8217;ve learned the most from the times I&#8217;ve failed and felt really terrible about it. I recently read a book written by an author whose father asked her on a regular basis, &#8220;What did you fail at today?&#8221;. It seems odd because we so often want to ask our kids, &#8220;What was fabulous, fluffy, and beautiful about your day?&#8221;, but when we challenge them to tell us about what they struggled with or failed at, it makes the conversations a little more meaningful and allows for more teachable moments. The real challenge here is not for the child, in my humble opinion, but it&#8217;s for the parent who needs to be ready to handle whatever the child is willing to throw at them and use it to demonstrate how the child can use this experience to handle other adversities in their future &#8211; a real parent is courageous and willing to do this, a scared, lazy, absent parent would shudder at the thought of this conversation. 4. Millennials Communicate With Their Elders in An &#8220;Open&#8221; Dialogue. I&#8217;m not really sure when this happened, but &#8220;respecting your elders&#8221; somehow became uncool during this millennial time. In fact, the &#8220;elders&#8221; (or parents) seem to want to be seen as &#8220;cool&#8221; and therefore started becoming more open to discuss all areas of life with their children, even areas that used to seem taboo. Our kids now know when we need a cup of coffee, are on our periods, had a bad day at work, or even want or NEED a glass of wine. Kids are drawing pictures of mommy holding a martini glass or drinking her &#8220;mommy juice&#8221; because they see it and talk about it first hand. Since when was it acceptable for our kids to know EVERYTHING about our lives? It&#8217;s not. I believe that this open dialogue is what is hard for the baby boomer generation wrap their head around. Gone are the days where we don&#8217;t sass back to our parents or curse at them, if you&#8217;ve ever seen any of the troubled kids on Dr. Phil, you know what I&#8217;m talking about. Blame it on social media, blame it on our children having access to our lives like never before, but do keep in mind, as you&#8217;re sharing something intimate or personal with your child, that it could be influencing their decision making and life choices as well. And finding humor in our bad parenting choices, is not always funny. 5. Millennials Feel Entitled. Reality shows like &#8220;My Super Sweet 16&#8243; or &#8220;Keeping Up with the Kardashians&#8221; may have helped millennials believe that they too deserve the trendiest clothes, the best makeup, the sexiest cars, and the wildest parties without ever &#8220;earning&#8221; them. I mean they deserve it right? Their parents work hard so they can have this nice stuff &#8230; yeah. Many millennials travel the world and &#8220;experience&#8221; life before they&#8217;ve even gone to college &#8211; how do they pay for it? Their parents! I get it, many parents of millennials grew up during tough times and they want to provide a better life for their own children; as a parent, I really do understand this. However, millennials these days tend to live rich lives on a very broke budget &#8211; they have the newest iPhones, clothes, gadgets, fake boobs, computers, Playstations, etc. but have never had a job! Ask them about their resume and they have NOTHING to show. Ask them about work ethic? They don&#8217;t get it! They know their parents work hard, but that&#8217;s about it, they haven&#8217;t experienced it for themselves. While parents are busting their ass to provide for their kids and trying to do the &#8220;right&#8221; thing, it&#8217;s actually backfiring them and teaching them the complete opposite lesson! And we sometimes wonder why our kids don&#8217;t &#8220;take care of their stuff&#8221;, well, if you aren&#8217;t personally invested in something, it doesn&#8217;t have as much meaning. Make THEM work for it and they&#8217;ll be singing a different tune. &#160; The points I make here are not to degrade millennials or parents of millennials, as I said before, I, myself, am one (by definition). After years of experience as a middle school teacher, personally knowing a lot of millennials, and becoming a parent myself, I&#8217;ve experienced many of these traits first hand. I can honestly say that millennials are really an awesome generation of people. They can grasp new ideas and concepts faster than any other age group (my toddler son can attest to this) and they can build and create new, great things more efficiently than any other demographic. They definitely have the world in their hands, but they also have a bad rap &#8211; but that doesn&#8217;t mean we can&#8217;t easily take some steps to rectify our reputation. I believe we, as millennials and parents of millennials, can readjust and quickly see some drastic improvements if we are willing to step up our game, take life into our own hands, and get a little fire under our ass to prove all the nay-sayers wrong. &#160;]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>What It&#8217;s Really Like to Meet and Marry a Single Parent</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-really-like-to-meet-and-marry-a-single-parent/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-really-like-to-meet-and-marry-a-single-parent/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2015 18:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Heather]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Single Parent]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6817</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was around 10 when I learned that when it comes to family, bloodlines don&#8217;t mean everything, and in some cases, it doesn&#8217;t mean ANYTHING. According to the dictionary, &#8220;Family&#8221; can be defined as: a. A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children. b. Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place. Nowhere in these definitions does it state anything about blood or biology. In today&#8217;s society it is not uncommon for a child to grow up without knowing one (or both) of their parent&#8217;s. In fact, it&#8217;s almost becoming abnormal if you ARE raised by both parents. I was around 10 when I found out that my dad, who had been raising me, wasn&#8217;t my biological father. My biological father was out of the picture by the time I was two, around the same time my mom met my dad. I was definitely hurt and confused by everything when I found out. I remember asking myself, &#8220;What is so wrong with me that my own father doesn&#8217;t want to be part of my life?&#8221; It was difficult, especially at a time where you&#8217;re already confused about the changes going on in your life. Even at ten, I never questioned who my DAD was. A father is someone who helps give you life, a dad is someone who helps makes you who you are and is PART of your life. My dad is the one who taught me how to play softball. He almost never missed a softball, basketball, volleyball game, or a track meet. He woke my brother and I up every Christmas morning by yelling &#8220;Ho Ho Ho Merrrrrry Christmas&#8221; with my mom. He helped me move more times that I can count. He taught me what to look for in a guy by giving me the greatest example of what a man could be. Then he walked me down the aisle when I found that guy. I always remember asking myself, &#8220;How could someone just take me in and raise me like I was their own, without thinking twice?&#8221; and then came Dave and Devon. Devon was six when Dave and I met, and had just turned seven by the time that I met her. Dave and I wanted to make sure that we were serious before I met Devon and had the chance to get attached with her and for her to get attached to me. You see, Devon has a very similar situation as I do and her birth mother has never been in her life. Dave was a single father for six years. Most people don&#8217;t even know that Devon and I don&#8217;t share blood. She looks like me&#8230;. A LOT! (A sign that we were meant to be a family, if you ask me.) We hit it off from day one, and I can honestly say that I fell in love with her before I fell in love with Dave. We could not get along any better (even now that Devon is heading into her Freshman year of High School). There were definitely some things that we had to figure out and work through as a family. When Dave, Devon and I started spending time together it was very&#8230; tricky&#8230; trying to find my place in the family. I wanted to build a friendship with Devon, but I also needed her to see me a mother figure. I had to learn when and how to step in and be a parent without feeling like I was overstepping my boundaries. I needed to spend one-on-one time with Devon to get to know her and for her to get to know me. Dave and I both knew that if things did not work with Devon and I then they wouldn&#8217;t work with Dave and I. We didn&#8217;t want to form a family where all three of us would be miserable because Devon and I did not get along. I&#8217;m very lucky that I met Devon when she was seven. Knowing her strong personality, it would have been MUCH more difficult to become a family if we met now instead of 7 years ago. Do I wish that I had met Dave and Devon sooner? Absolutely! But I am thankful that I&#8217;ve already been in Devon&#8217;s life for more than half of her life. (Which she made note of on her 14th birthday &#8211; that she had officially had me for half of her life.) When people do find out that I&#8217;m not Devon&#8217;s birth mother they always comment on how lucky Devon is to have me in her life. What they don&#8217;t understand is that she has been just as good for me. Although Devon doesn&#8217;t share my blood, she is my heart. It is from loving her that I understand how and why my dad could accept me and love me as his own. There is no doubt in my mind that Devon was meant to be my daughter (like I said, the resemblance is almost freaky) and there is no doubt that my dad was meant to be my dad. Some of the best parents that I know are not biological parents. They are people who stepped in and loved children for no other reason but to simply LOVE them and not because they felt like they had to.]]></description>
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		<title>Creating Memories Together</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/creating-memories-together/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/creating-memories-together/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2015 22:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lori  Ann Davis]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love/Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mothers day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=5886</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Best Thing About MEMORIES …..is making them. “We don’t remember days, we remember moments.” Cesare Pavese I was driving in the car the other day with my two young daughters in the back seat. They were listening to the radio and singing along to one of the songs. All of a sudden my youngest stops and says, “I need to make memories so later in life I can remember how good my life was.”  I instantly realized how profound this statement was. I knew this would be a blog topic! How often do we get caught up in life and just function on autopilot?  Do you spend most of your time thinking about what has to be done and maybe even feeling overwhelmed by all your responsibilities? I know I do sometimes. It really does require making a conscious choice to really live life and not just get swept up in life. With Mother’s Day fast approaching, I am reminded once again of how important small things are in our lives. These small things create moments that we remember forever. Our lives are made up of a series of memories. You create those memories each and every day. What memories will you choose to create?  What kind of life will you have to remember?  Can you take some time out each day to create those memories?  It doesn’t have to take much time. I still remember reading to my oldest daughter every night before she went to sleep. She is now grown but still remembers those times and the books we read together. Now we sneak in moments of watching TV in my bed at night whenever we can.  It reminds us of those times when she was young and those good memories.  I am carrying on this same tradition with my younger girls. Ending our day with some quality time together is important to us.  What things can you do today and each day to create happy memories? My grandmother had a notebook and she would write down things that made her smile or cute things I did or said as a child.  This was her book of happy memories with me. She gave me this book when I was grown and I still have it. I can go back and read about all the wonderful times I had with a great lady. She is no longer with us in person, but her book of memories is. I wrote a blog recently called, What Our Children Really Need. One of the needs is quality time with us. This creates memories for us and our children but it also instills in them a sense of security and a knowing that they are important. They remember this for a lifetime, not just a moment. Creating special moments with our children is very important but so is creating special moments with our partner, our friends, and ourselves. We neglect that last one sometimes. Remember that in order to be able to give to others, you need to take care of yourself. What we focus on in life is what creates our experiences and the life we lead. I teach clients how to change their thoughts and beliefs so they can change their lives. My suggestion to you is to start making memories today that will help you remember what a great life you had. This is how you create a great life today! Lori Ann Davis, MA, CRS &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Two&#8217;s Company, Three&#8217;s a Crowd? Or, Maybe NOT.</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/twos-a-company-threes-a-crowd-or-maybe-not/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/twos-a-company-threes-a-crowd-or-maybe-not/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2015 18:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Heather]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[3 Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[3 kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Multiple Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Three's a Crowd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Two's Company]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=5693</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; So, while I was at a mommy meetup group today with my kids, one of the moms said she heard that having 3 kids is easier than having just 2. I almost spit my water out, after hearing this nonsense! I told her that was a lie. I have 3 and can tell you it isn&#8217;t easier. You are outnumbered! That means, one of you has 2 and the other has 1! Maybe when they get older, it gets easier? But I can tell you, it isn&#8217;t easier right now, while they are young. It is also a lot more expensive! You have to think about 3x&#8217;s that college tuition (I am hoping my kids all get scholarships! I can have hope, right??). Let&#8217;s rewind back to when my husband and I only had the 2 kids&#8230; I never imagined myself even having 3 kids. Never really gave it much thought. I just figured we would deal with the 2 we did have and get through that &#8212; until I got a little older and the thought was in the back of my head. I have to admit, I thought about having regrets as I got older. But, then I talked myself out of it and thought there was NO way I could have 3! It just wasn&#8217;t what I wanted. Then, BOOM! SURPRISE!! That little white stick read positive! To be honest, I was a little sad, scared, anxious, did I say scared?!! 3 kids. Wow. There were days when I broke down and cried from being so tired and thought, &#8220;How in the world can I handle one more kid?? I can&#8217;t even deal with these two right now!&#8221; I even began questioning my parenting skills and started to think maybe I wasn&#8217;t cut out to be a mom of more than 1 kid! (Keep in mind, all these thoughts were while I was pregnant&#8230;we all know how that goes). I was just scared period. Scared of the &#8220;unknown&#8221; lol. I was about to enter into the craziness. Or, as a good friend told me, &#8220;Shit just got real.&#8221; Now, my 3rd child is 9 months old and I couldn&#8217;t imagine my life any other way, nor would I have it any other way! Just when I thought my heart couldn&#8217;t hold anymore love, it does! My 3rd child has changed me for the best. Actually, ALL my children have, but my 3rd has made me really change my view on things. I don&#8217;t care so much about the little things, I am not afraid to speak up or say how I feel, I don&#8217;t spend time on the nonsense anymore, and I can honestly say, because of all this craziness in our house, I manage my time so much better than ever before. Maybe everyone, with 3 kids doesn&#8217;t feel this way, and that is ok. They don&#8217;t have to. That is them, this is me, this is MY story.]]></description>
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		<title>The Realities of the Tightrope of Life. What Does Work/ Life Balance Mean For Me?</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-realities-of-the-tightrope-of-life-what-does-work-life-balance-mean-for-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-realities-of-the-tightrope-of-life-what-does-work-life-balance-mean-for-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2015 12:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maureen Carlomagno]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love/Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Balance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fatherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[functional imperfection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wellness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wellness success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work life balance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=5711</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Like most women, I wear lots of hats in my life. Finding an equilibrium that suits me and my family is a constant, free-flowing evolution. As a lifestyle and wellness coach, I see a lot of the same themes with my clients as well. Sharing these common themes with each other is really important, so we don’t feel so isolated in our experiences. I’m going to lead by example with the list below. In my mom, wife, and business owner role, I have learned: To normalize the duality of parenthood and my career aspirations by showing those around me that I can blend motherhood and a career successfully. Originally, I felt that I had to hide the fact I was a mom. Over the years I have come around. I think it&#8217;s important that as working moms, we show the world how we can have our kids with us and still get things done. Breaking down my big dreams into little pieces so they are manageable has been invaluable. I have had to put some things on hold or slow down in order to achieve this balance. It’s hard to be patient and wait. If I were to completely stop every time there was an obstacle, I wouldn&#8217;t be able to move forward in reaching my main goals. Making time to communicate with my partner has kept us from becoming strangers. When you are both juggling so many different balls, it can be easy to put your relationship into auto-pilot. This takes a lot of work, but is worth it. &#160; In my life balance/wellness coach role, I have learned: We are all trying to get by the best we can. Asking for help (lots of it) instead of trying to be a jack of all trades can be a life saver. Choose sanity over all the other stuff. Live a life that is true to you. Peeling back the layers of what I “need” versus what I “want” can be very powerful. What do you really value most? Are you doing the activities that will lead you to those end goals? Take care of your body. If you aren&#8217;t filling up your own tank daily, you can’t be your best self for those around you. Getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and exercising are so important. As is taking time to truly connect and communicate with your loved ones. Do activities that replenish your soul frequently. &#160; For me at this point, it is all about striving for what I like to call “functional imperfection.” I&#8217;ve learned to embrace the waves of uncertainty. Real life is a bit messy and unpredictable. Let’s not be afraid to share our struggles and successes with each other. &#160; Maureen Carlomagno is an enthusiastic advocate of integrated wellness, community engagement, and following your heart. She provides a unique and dynamic style of coaching that inspires clients to find their way to a healthier, happier life. Maureen works with her clients by focusing on personal development through smart decision making and increased self-understanding. Find out more at www.your-wellness-coach.com. &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Children Bodily Fluids 101</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/children-bodily-fluids-101/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/children-bodily-fluids-101/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2015 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrea Curtis]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bodily Fluids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boogers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Child]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Potty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Potty Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Puke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Runny Nose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What It's Really Like]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wipe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wiping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=5512</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; The other day my 4 year old told our roofer proudly she could wipe her own bottom now when she poops. I was only slightly surprised she said this to him knowing her personality. I laughed it off and began thinking about the ugly process of teaching her and her two older sisters how to properly wipe. No one prepared me for this! I thought of parenting as moments in hallmark movies. Boy was I off. Granted there are moments of pure joy. But on a daily basis. We deal with bodily fluids with young children. There is no dealing with Children&#8217;s Bodily Fluids For Idiots book. So heres my cliff note version of dealing with children&#8217;s bodily fluids 101: Wiping. I can&#8217;t help you with boys, I&#8217;ve got all girls. I literally bent over and demonstrated the process and the importance to wipe away form their vagina. I showed them about how large of piece of toilet paper to use. My first daughter was a disaster, she used tiny pieces of toilet paper, getting poop on her fingers and wiping the wrong direction causing an infection! They don&#8217;t know this stuff, so I have to teach her!  When is comes to diapers and poop, Huggies dealt with poop the best for us. Unless you want to get a whiff of poop next time your tuck your hair behind your ear, don&#8217;t stick your finger anywhere near the edges to check for a bowl movement. Just assume the worst. Puke! Puking is the worst of all bodily fluids. Although it&#8217;s not as common, thank God. It&#8217;s the most disgusting. They don&#8217;t understand they are about to erupt like a volcano, they just stand or lay there as it comes pouring out of them with a confused look on there face as they see us running with a look of disgust and fear all at once. When my girls were little toddlers the fast approaching or hovering buckets scared them and confused them. In turn the buckets didn&#8217;t help much until they understand. Dangling them over a sink or toilet is just not realistic for a bouncy toddler either. Since I am not a fan of scrubbing puke out of carpet, fabric, bed rails, and carseat buckles I have come to this&#8230; we stay at home in a practical designated area; usually the family room. I make a play area of layered towels, only allowing hard and easy to clean toys. If they want to sit on my lap, I drape a towel over both of us as if it were a blanket. When puking begins I pull the sides of the towel vertical to prevent spilling over the sides. When vomit session ends I roll up her vomit contaminated towel and wash it. During sleeping times I made beds of towels layered on the floor and I would sleep near by. It was so much easier to clean up and get them back to sleep. Making a bed over and over on a puking night, is horrible. Keep it practical keep it easy. Snot and Boogers!! It&#8217;s all the time! They are either teething, have a cold, or allergies. Snot is gonna happen. Nose picking is gonna happen. We have all blown our noses and still couldn&#8217;t get that wretched dried nasal mucus, so as civilized adults we quickly retrieve it and dispose it and promptly washing our hands. We have all done it! So how can we expect our little humans to not reach for an aggravating piece of dried nasal mucus in their nose. It&#8217;s what we do with the booger thats important. Yelling and asking them to not pick their nose may just lead them to hiding the evidence by eating it! (retching sound) That is not ok with me! I keep those little packs of tissues everywhere! In my purse, my van, the diaper bag, in each room in the house. Every time I catch them digging for gold, I hand them a tissue. Now they come find me, &#8220;Mom, I have a booger!&#8221;&#8230; Hey I prefer it than scraping boogers off of walls and furniture. Someone should warn us parents about this stuff. There are books that share about what toys are good for fine motor skills. What about this stuff?! This is what its really like.]]></description>
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		<title>Whine Time = Wine Time</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/whine-time-wine-time/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/whine-time-wine-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2015 09:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Heather]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glass of Wine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mommy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tantrums]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Witching Hour]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=5481</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You probably shouldn&#8217;t be reading this if you are against drinking or think that drinking a glass of wine around kids is bad parenting. By the way, if you do happen to feel this way, I highly disagree with you and think you probably need a glass of wine yourself.  And, if you don&#8217;t even have kids but have an opinion about this, then you won&#8217;t even be heard, because you have NO idea how it is.  Just for the record&#8230;I swear, I am not an alcoholic!! Ahhhh&#8230;a glass of wine&#8230;the wonders it does for parents. For instance, my 3 year old, 9 month old, and 8 year old were coming up on witching hour..usually around 4pm everyday is the time they start having tantrums and start with the whining. &#8220;Mommy, I am hungry&#8230;Mommy, I am bored&#8230;Mommy, he took my toy&#8230;Mommy, the baby is crying too loud&#8230;Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!!!&#8221; I look at the clock and think to myself, &#8220;It is 4pm and a glass of wine sure would taste so good right now&#8221; But then reality kicks in and unless I could grow a third arm, that just isn&#8217;t happening. I only have two hands and can barely keep up with these damn kids. How can I even pour some wine right now?? Or, run out of the house, without them knowing I am gone?? The whining drives me nuts! I know I am not the only one that craves for that delicious glass of wine. You see, when my kids start whining, my mind starts thinking about what people are doing that don&#8217;t have kids. They must be going to to happy hour after work, or maybe going to the nail salon or even going to the bathroom&#8211;ALONE!! I love my kids&#8211;A LOT, but damn!! What the heck did I do before they were born?? Oh, I know&#8230;I slept!! Whine time for the kids pushes me for my wine time later. I don&#8217;t remember liking wine so much with my first child. Maybe it just started to happen the more kids we had. Don&#8217;t feel guilty having a glass, or two of wine, because YOU deserve it!! Life is too short to worry about what everyone else thinks and worry about the little things &#8212; like the damn whining!!]]></description>
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		<title>Nine is the New Thirteen</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/nine-is-the-new-thirteen/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/nine-is-the-new-thirteen/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2015 10:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Hollie]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[9 is the new 13]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tween]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=4189</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We are on the edge at my house. A very delicate, confusing, frustrating edge. You see, I have a nine year old. And not just any nine year old, but one of the female kind. We are teetering on the edge of being a kid and coming into her own, and let me be the first to tell you: it’s maddening. I understand it’s a struggle, and people warned me, but honestly, I thought all this drama was saved for the teenage years. Not the pre-pre-teen years! SHE IS NINE!! When did nine become the new thirteen? Why didn’t this mom get that memo?! You’d think with the endless emails and pieces of paper sent home from the school that clutter up my inbox and counter top, one of them could have mentioned that nine is the new thirteen? All I can gather is that it’s very hard to be nine. Not the same way that it’s hard to be three because that one is different. When a child is three and tantrums are every other hour, the in-between hours are filled with cuddles and I love yous. Not when you are nine. The in-between hours of tantrums of a nine year old (yes, tantrums!) are filled with sassing and “why does everyone hate me?!” Just yesterday she was three. And I thought three was tough. But three has nothing on nine. Nine is a whole new scary beast that creeps up on your perfect little angel and eats them up and spits them back out in a form you do not recognize. I miss three. Every once in a while there is a glimmer of hope that my beautiful baby girl is still in there when she wants to cuddle on the couch or asks me to do her hair. Just as I realize how nice it is to have my baby back, she turns on me and screams…”WHO ATE ALL THE BLUEBERRIES?!?” She is beautiful, talented and caring. She’s not the “mean girl”. As a matter of fact, she is one who shuts down the mean girls at school and welcomes the new girl with open arms. I’m so proud of her. I thought I was doing everything right as a parent. We always think that, don’t we? But I fear that I’m doing it all wrong. That I’m an epic failure as a mom because I now have the sassy nine-year-old. Sure, sassy thirteen-year-olds people understand. But nine?!? I’ve clearly done something wrong. When she screams at me that I “don’t love her like a daughter!” – that is what makes this age different than thirteen. What does that even mean – I don’t love her like a daughter?!? I miss three. Thirteen is different from what I can remember. It’s hormones and boys and friends. This is different. It’s a conflicting age because while they want to be big, they still have the emotions and insides of a kid. A missed problem on “Extra Math” (don’t get me started on the Extra Math drama!) can result in a full, toddler-style meltdown. But then in the next moment, a tongue full of sass comes flying at me from across the room and almost takes off an ear because she can’t stay up all night. Who is this girl? I miss three. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. We have many more years ahead of us to figure out and navigate together. They’ve always told me “big kids = big problems”. But she isn’t big! She is little! She is my baby!! This is the time that a parent’s patience is really tested. You thought the toddler crying in the hall from a drop-down tantrum because you wouldn’t let her stick something in the outlet was testing. This is different. This is one of those trials of a mom that we will all go through and come out the other side…in a decade or so. At least that is what I’m telling myself. This article first appeared on BabyGizmo.com.]]></description>
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