Whenever new people enter a family, things shift a bit. It doesn’t matter whether the new person is a significant other or a newborn infant. New traditions come into being, or get passed on from one family segment to another. The first time my husband and I spent Christmas together, he got a stocking as […]
What Are Your Family Traditions? Read More »
Are you sick of listening to your kids belt out the theme song from Frozen yet? Do you wish that the singing purple dinosaur had never been invented? Do you prefer some good music for a long car ride over hearing your kids’ dueling electronic toys in the backseat? Do you have a long car
Tunes for Traveling With Kids: Our Top 15 Road Trip Soundtracks Read More »
If you’re spending part of the holiday season in transit, and your entourage will include at least one child who’s not yet fully toilet-trained, you have a lot of potential messes ahead of you, at a time when it’s least convenient. Whether you use disposable diapers, cloth, or something in between, this post is for
Next Time You Travel, Try Diaper Covers Read More »
Even though the first week of December was rainy and dreary in our neck of the woods, the girls and I have had a super start to our month. Part of the credit goes to the fact that I’ve made some very conscious decisions to simplify our lives, both for the holiday season and beyond.
Less Is More: Three Ways We’re Cutting Back and Living Better This Holiday Season Read More »
In an earlier post, I offered four tips on how to pack for traveling with kids, so you can learn from my mistakes and avoid some of the trial-and-error I’ve gone through in trying to streamline family travel. This post will focus on some of the hacks on what to pack that I’ve figured out
What To Pack When Traveling With Kids: My Five Must-Haves For A Better Trip Read More »
Last weekend, a two-car accident left three people seriously injured and one woman dead. The woman was a friend of my family’s, and my mother’s entire church community is reeling with the news that she is gone and her husband has more broken bones than he can count. So am I, quite frankly. Dinah and
Do You Have Your S#!t Together? Read More »
My husband is a math teacher. He lives, breathes, and eats numbers. Thus it’s not too surprising that numbers are floating through the atmosphere in our house on a pretty regular basis, or that Kimmie and Essie have been a bit ahead of the curve in learning to count. But early in our parenting journey,
Want Something Done? Try Counting Read More »
Yesterday morning, Halloween, was a prime example of One Of Those Days. Don’t get me wrong – it had its moments that were perfect enough for a Hallmark card. Like when I giddily returned home a few minutes before 7 a.m., exhausted and sweat-soaked but on a temporary high after having dragged myself out of
Some Things You Just Have To Learn The Hard Way Read More »
The summer when she was two, Kimmie became obsessed with bees. My in-laws brought her a book about bees when they came to visit, and that was it: Kimmie announced then and there, in early August, that she was going to be a bee for Halloween that year. From then until October 31st, whenever you
Easy DIY Halloween Costumes: Bumbling Bee Costume Read More »
Looking for a super-yummy snack with that delicious pumpkin spice flavor that goes so well with autumn? If so, this pumpkin dip is a must-try. The days are turning cooler here, the leaves are changing color, fresh apples are in season, and it seems everyone is advertising things pumpkin-spice-flavored. If I had unlimited time, money,
Super-Yummy Pumpkin Dip Read More »
What could be cuter than a little ladybug at Halloween? A little ladybug costume that you made yourself! What You’ll Need: This DIY costume takes 1-2 hours to make, depending on how you do it. You’ll need the following: Black pants A red long-sleeved shirt or onesie Black felt, fabric, or duct tape, plus scissors
DIY Halloween Costumes: Cute Little Ladybug Read More »
The first Halloween costume I ever “made” the girls was an accident. My husband and I were set to take our infant to an outdoor fall social event for his work. Since it was a few days from Halloween, I got out Kimmie’s black pants and a jack-o-lantern T-shirt. The night before the event, I
DIY Halloween Costumes: Easy-Peasy Jack-o-Lantern Read More »
So life’s been insanely busy these past few weeks. Something I’m sure none of you can relate to. Too busy to vacuum the kitchen floor – which is, let’s face it, not my favorite activity anyway. (Funny how dust allergies can do that to a gal.) But that doesn’t stop my enthusiastic eaters from eating
A Cleaner Kitchen With Little Eaters Read More »
There are two items in my kitchen that make my life oh-so-much easier. These kitchen gadgets take a lot of extra time and work out of food prep. In the process, they make it easier for me to cook healthy meals from scratch, AND help me save money by cutting my own produce (instead of
My Two Must-Have Kitchen Gadgets Read More »
Recently I spent a rare kid-free day at a conference with a dear friend. Cathleen is one of those friends you wish you could share more cups of tea with. Nowadays, our paths don’t cross nearly as much as they used to before I was married and a mom, back in the days when I’d
Supermom Doesn’t Live Here Read More »
You probably have your own toiletry kit that you keep packed for travel (if not, I strongly recommend one that hangs, so you can hang it up high, out of kiddos’ reach). But do you also have a separate one for your littlest travelers? Keeping one packed, and reviewing its contents before each trip, is
Traveling With Kids: Packing Your Kids’ Toiletry Kit Read More »
First off, my apologies to those of you who will read this post and say “duh!” You’re probably at least ten steps ahead of me already on hacking mommyhood and otherwise simplifying your parental existence. When I stop and think about what I’m about to tell you, part of me thinks, How banal! How obvious!
Watermelon Made Easy: Summer Snacks Simplified Read More »
Want quick and easy dinner recipes for your family? This is my favorite: I like using up leftovers from the fridge for dinner. Ever since I was a student working my way through school, I’ve challenged myself on a regular basis to invent dinner out of whatever we have on hand in the house. Not
Reinventing Leftovers For Dinner: My Family’s Favorite Hash Read More »
My kids’ fave munchies for hot summer days? Hands-down, frozen grapes. I first came across this idea a couple of years before I actually tried it, and I only wish I’d tried it sooner. My hesitation is simple to explain: I assumed the grapes would freeze into little rocks that I’d then have to thaw
Why Frozen Grapes are THE Best Summer Snack Read More »
Ah, the fickle friendships of childhood. Until recently, we never imagined that such dramas could begin as early as the preschool set. Welcome to the twenty-first century. We signed Kimmie up for two weeks of camp this summer. The camp is run by her preschool, so she already knows many of the other campers, and
On Fickle Four-Year-Old Friendships: Surviving the Drama Read More »
