JoyHedding, Author at Urban Mommies

Browsing Articles Written by

JoyHedding

Joy aka Evil Joy is wife to one Dr. Evil and mother to four children she often refers to as spawn. Joy is a snowboarding fanatic and loves to share her exploits - snowboarding and otherwise - on Instagram. She currently spends copious amounts of time taxiing her children from one place to another. Frequently funny, always honest, and occasionally serious Joy blogs about everything from dealing with messy teenagers to navigating life after PTSD. Joy has been published in the anthologies "Surviving Mental Illness Through Humor" and "Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee" and featured on Sammiches and Psych Meds and In the Powder Room.

The Road Now Traveled

FAM, kids By JoyHedding July 27, 2019 Tags: kids growing up, learning to drive, teenage drivers 3 Comments

My son can legally drive a vehicle. Not just any vehicle, but a manual transmission hatchback that has been my husband’s commuter car for the last five years.

Last time I looked my son was driving his matchbox school bus on carefully crafted track around the house. Now he’s taking a car on roads with stop signs, turn lanes, potholes and … OTHER DRIVERS. Sometime in the last ten years he’s grown taller and stronger than me and old enough to drive. Surely just last week I was teaching him to ride a bike and wasn’t it just yesterday he started middle school?

Summer Transition Tips for Moms: Teen Edition

FAM, grow, kids, LIVE, nourish, play, rest, Uncategorized By JoyHedding June 13, 2019 Tags: rules for summer, summer guidelines, teenagers 1 Comment

As your child gets older and more independent, the summer break takes on a whole different vibe. Your now-teenager has successfully navigated middle school, some of high school, and possibly even completed Drivers’ Ed (eek!) At this point, they’re likely pretty entrenched in their daily routine: getting to class, completing assignments, attending practice, and (hopefully) doing their chores. And then summer arrives and it all falls apart. Your once busy teenager suddenly has hours and hours of time to play with and no direction creating a situation that can quickly escalate out of moms control—so here are some summer tips for moms with teens to help nip it in the bud right from the start.

Summer Transition Tips for Moms: Kid Edition

FAM, Featured, grow, health, kids, LIVE, play, rest, Uncategorized By JoyHedding June 9, 2019 Tags: community education programs, summer actives, summer transition, transition to summer, younger children No Comments

The school year is drawing to a close and summer will be here in a minute, with it the buzz of schoolkids ready to burst from the confines of their routine and be free. Never fear: a successful summer transition is within your reach. The change from classroom to summer setting need not be jarring—for you or your child (or your teen). Doing a bit of prep before summer’s arrival will ease you all into this change and set you up for a summer of grand memories and structured good times.

Continue Reading

When You’re A Sports Mama

play By JoyHedding May 24, 2019 1 Comment

My day starts with checking the uniform cleanliness status, the color coded calendar on the refrigerator, and my supply of coffee and coconut milk creamer.

Because I’m a Sports Mama.

I have four extremely active children. On any given day we potentially have three softball games in three different cities in the Metro, a volleyball game somewhere in the school district, a football game up to four hours away, dance rehearsal and a dad and mom who may be coaching any of those things…..well, not the dance or football. That’s just the fall season.

Boogie Wipes for the Win!

beauty, GEAR By JoyHedding October 27, 2017 No Comments

Life is messy. Kids are super messy. Even though my babies have moved to the triple-digit month counts – you know, she’s 111 months old – I am still floored by the disasters they create when eating food, blowing their noses, and just living life in general. If you think once your wee one can walk, run, or say, even drive, that your messy days are past, you’re mistaken!

A Handful of Awesome!

fitness By JoyHedding July 18, 2017 No Comments

My workout clothes stunk. Literally. I’d soaked them, washed them multiple times on sanitize cycle, line dried them in the sun – even left them out in a storm hoping to get the stank out. Alas, nothing helped. It was time. I needed to shop for … dah dah duuuhhhhhhh. New clothes. I’m not a great shopper – I have the attention span of a toddler, the patience of a hungry infant, and a matching ability only slightly above that of my engineering husband (no offense, sweetheart). I’m pretty much about functionality, fit, and comfort. If it looks cute, that’s a bonus, but not a focus typically for me as I not only live in my workout clothing – I sweat – copious amounts – in my workout clothing.

My Softball Mom Skin Care Routine

beauty By JoyHedding June 29, 2017 No Comments

Use sunscreen or feel the wrath of the burn. It’s pretty clear cut for my family…..Wear sunscreen or mom will chase you around and put some in the middle of your forehead. Thus causing you to fully sunscreen your face lest you have a non-tanned spot smack in the middle! There has been a time or two I was so concerned about making sure the kids’ skin was protected I forgot about my own. OUCH! As a now 40(+) year old mama, I am more and more aware of the damage the sun can cause. And wrinkles. I don’t want any wrinkles that aren’t from laughing and have fun in my life! I’m not a big makeup wearer but don’t care for the shine traditional sunscreen leaves on my face. This caused a bit of a conundrum for me – how to protect my face and look my best?

Pulling Up My (New) Socks

fitness By JoyHedding June 15, 2017 1 Comment

My legs are my life line to sanity right now. They get me from home, to my kids’ ballgames, back home, to the well worn path to the grocery store. And my legs get me out on the road running…the place I really find my center and zen. When I need to clear my head I grind out some miles and come back to my life with a clearer view and renewed purpose.

Running Safety: What You Need To Keep Going And Never Give Up!

fitness By JoyHedding May 25, 2017 1 Comment

I love to run and where I live that means running on country roads. I’ve written about my love of running in the past and also about my desire to be safe while running. Being safe can mean a lot of different things – making sure someone knows where I’m headed on my route, or at least has an idea of the general direction I’m headed – being aware of my surroundings in case drivers aren’t aware of me – even knowing where the cows are out to pasture so I don’t startle them which WILL startle me.

I’ve been fortunate enough to return from all of my runs safely. Now I’ve got some added protection – in case I have a problem.

Political Learning: Censored For the First Time

grow, LIVE By JoyHedding October 18, 2016 1 Comment

I’m ready for the election to come to a close. I want my vote to count, my opinion to matter, and to have political discussions with rational people. I am not one to force my opinions on others. Frequently I ask people with different opinions to explain their stance to me. I ask not with an agenda of undermining or changing their beliefs. I ask with the goal of learning a new point of view.

1 2 3