Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

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May 12, 2010 15 Comments

Boy Meets Bag

A couple of years ago the kids and I were looking through the purses and bags at Goodwill, and our son announced that he, too, wanted a purse. I suppose he would have been about six years old at the time.A bag of his own could contain his wallet, ChapStick, a notepad and pen, his Nintendo DS—such a practical solution for easy transport! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, family, motherhood, parenting, taking risks Tagged With: man bag, parenting boys

April 28, 2010 19 Comments

Celebrating My Writer-Mom

My mom worked as the editor of our local newspaper, covering news all over the county. If a reporter couldn't make it to an event, Mom would grab her camera, reporter's pad, and pen—and quite often her daughter—to capture the news herself. This meant that whether I wanted to or not, I visited sporting events, live nativity scenes, church bazaars, festivals, fairs, horse … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, creativity, family, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery, taking risks, Uncategorized, writer, writers, writing, Writing in the Midst of Motherhood Series

April 26, 2010 30 Comments

Imperfect Conditions

No matter what complicates schedules—whether you have a full-time job or you're a full-time caregiver—write what you can, when you can. Because the conditions are never perfect.

"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." (Ecclesiastes 11:4, New Living Translation)   If I waited for the perfect conditions to develop my writing life, I'd still be waiting. Back in the early 1990s, I did manage to explore writing as my work, as a way of life. I wrote and submitted a few magazine articles and met with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, blogging, change, children, creativity, family, home, lifelong learning, mind, motherhood, parenting, reading, self-discovery, simplicity, writer, writers, writing, Writing in the Midst of Motherhood Series Tagged With: Barbara Kingsolver, flexibility, Julia Cameron, Parker Palmer

April 13, 2010 18 Comments

Disney Survivor

We waited 16 years to take the plunge.We put it off mostly because it's the opposite of everything I would ask for in a vacation destination. And, to be honest, I wasn't sure this slow-craving, introvertive mom could survive it. But it occurred to us one cold winter evening that we only have a few more trips with our almost-16-year-old daughter before she heads off to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, family, motherhood, parenting, taking risks, travel Tagged With: Disney World, Disneyworld, Walt Disney World, WDW

March 30, 2010 5 Comments

An Atmosphere of Affirmation

At HighCallingBlogs.com today, Bradley J. Moore of Shrinking the Camel explores the question, "When is Negative Feedback Too Negative?" He spotlighted my post "Reward the Good and Ignore the Bad: Does it Work?"He asks: We know that unhealthy criticism for no good reason can demoralize. But how do you point out negative behaviors if you want to develop people, to help them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: change, children, family, high calling blogs, home, lifelong learning, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery Tagged With: affirmation, positive reinforcement

March 25, 2010 2 Comments

The Collision of Work and Family: Bump

In A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle wrote:During the long drag of years before our youngest child went to school, my love for my family and my need to write were in acute conflict. The problem was really that I put two things first. My husband and children came first. So did my writing. Bump.The conflict—or collision—of work and family summed up in a word:  Bump.Ouch. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: change, children, family, high calling blogs, parenting, self-discovery, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing, taking risks Tagged With: balance, HCB, HighCallingBlogs, work-family balance

March 17, 2010 2 Comments

Post-Wog Flop

My daughters and their friends flop onto the grass after a five-mile training "wog." Submitted to Wordless Wednesday."Tired Woggers" photo by Ann Kroeker © 2010It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, exercise, family, taking risks Tagged With: half-marathon training, wog, wogging, Wordless Wednesday

March 14, 2010 17 Comments

Wogging the Mini

We're training for a half-marathon with our girls. Boy, has it been hard to drag ourselves out and log the miles. Thursday it was all we could do to make it out and back again for a total of 3.8 miles. And I can't call that outing a run; for that matter, it wasn't even a jog. Part walk/part jog ... I believe we went on a "wog." At any rate, this is our second year training … [Read more...]

Filed Under: change, children, exercise, family, home, parenting, self-discovery, simplicity, taking risks Tagged With: family run, half-marathon, jogging, wog, wogging

February 12, 2010 13 Comments

Food on Fridays: Valentine's Day Feast

(smaller button below)Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—your link could be your favorite lentil soup recipe, but it doesn't have to be a recipe. If it’s about shopping at Aldi's or you want to share your plans for Lent, go ahead and link up!When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, family, Food, Food on Fridays, home, motherhood, parenting Tagged With: chicken crock pot recipe, chicken recipe, crock pot recipe, Hoosier Comfort Chicken, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day feast

January 27, 2010 2 Comments

The Lecture: Healthy or Harsh?

Three of my kids take piano lessons from the same teacher, so they take turns going first. They determined the order themselves several months ago. I thought it was all settled. It shouldn’t be difficult to maintain who goes first, second and third, right?At the start of a recent lesson, they argued.“You go first.”“I went first last week.”“No, you didn’t!”“Yes, I did!”The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: change, children, family, high calling blogs, home, lifelong learning, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery Tagged With: child behavior, conflict management, conflict resolution, HCB, HighCallingBlogs

January 13, 2010 5 Comments

Don't Blink

*Blink*One morning I spied my son sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, his toes easily touching the floor. I stopped and stared. Something about his posture and those long, lean legs … for a moment, backlit by the morning sun, my eight-year-old boy looked like a teenager.Now, I was a little groggy, which may have added to the effect, but the thought of him that much older … [Read more...]

Filed Under: change, children, family, motherhood, parenting, slowing

December 17, 2009 1 Comment

Big Books and Mega Memory: The Stuff of Lifelong Learning

"Absent"? "Irreverent"? "Indifferent"?Found it!So that's what they mean!We hope to inspire lifelong learning with plenty of resources on hand like maps and dictionaries to help our kids figure things out.But that's not the only way. We also encourage lifelong learning by modeling it ourselves, demonstrating an interest in ideas, critical thinking, reading, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, family, lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, parenting, self-discovery, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing, taking risks Tagged With: learning, mega memory month, memory work

November 18, 2009 1 Comment

The Season of Getting, er, Giving

Well, it's starting: The season of getting—I mean, giving.I think it's hard to help our kids focus on giving when they're bombarded by commercials, window displays, newspaper inserts, catalogs and radio spots whose sole purpose is to awaken a desire to get.It's hard for us as adults to focus on giving, too, because we're bombarded with all those same enticing messages to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, blogging, change, children, frugality, high calling blogs, self-discovery, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing, taking risks Tagged With: giving, HCB

November 12, 2009 8 Comments

Food on Fridays: Food Stylist

(alternative button below)Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply show us a pile of apples you've picked at the orchard or snap a picture of your decorative fall pumpkins and gourds.In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, creativity, Food, Food on Fridays, frugality, home, simplicity Tagged With: Edith Schaeffer, food stylist, food stylists, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

November 4, 2009 1 Comment

Fathers Form Us

birthday party for dad

 Fathers form us.Our fathers may have launched us into adulthood healthy, strong and confident having poured into us words of truth, love and life and surrounded us with the safety of strength and sensitivity.Or perhaps our fathers left us emotionally shredded, grasping for something to staunch the wounds as we limped into the world to find our way.Even if a father … [Read more...]

Filed Under: children, family, parenting, self-discovery Tagged With: father memories, fatherhood, fathers

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Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Providing you with resources and inspiration to be more curious, creative, and productive.

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