If you're at all interested in our....

...philosophy on child rearing, I'm happy to share it with you.

Are you ready? Okay.

Truth: Robert and I have no actual clue what we are doing. I mean, we have read a bunch of books, asked for advice, been given about eighteen times more advice that we've asked for, and we have tried many, many different methods and approaches to just about every problem so far.

And here's what we've learned. Just like every family is different, every kid is different. So what works on one may or may not work on the other one. And sometimes different approaches work well for a while and then your child catches on and you are back to square one. And sometimes, you just have to make it up as you go along. But there is no one right way to do any of it. There may be a right way for your kid, and that's great. But trust in me when I say that flexibility will be your biggest asset.

But lest you think we are complete maniacs - which I'm not actually opening for debate, I'm just jumping in and announcing that we are not - the one thing we do right is to follow through. Well, most of the time. But good grief, that is so much harder than I thought. We also back each other up, so I guess we do two things right.

Along the way (and I feel the need to stress this, so I'll use shouty caps - SO FAR), we've learned to pick our battles, see the humorous side of situations, and admit it when we are wrong. Oh, and the most important one - we are learning to appreciate our kids for who they are now and who they are meant to be, not just who we thought or expected them to be. Sounds simple, but it took that one a while to sink in.

Because kids are like some assembly required furniture. All the pieces are there, even when there's a screw loose or a uneven shelf. And when they are done, they are beautiful and useful and a source of incredible pride.