Are your kids going nuts, now that Christmas is over and school vacation lasts another week? Are they not ready to let go of their favorite holiday? Either way, making Christmas pizza for lunch or dinner might help. Why Christmas Pizza? If your kids are like mine, they could do Christmas 365 days a year. […]
Recipe: Christmas Pizza Read More »
Do you need a few good holiday hacks? I know I do. Barely a week in, my December is already bursting at the seams. My to-do lists keep getting longer, and some things (like this post) never get done until weeks later than I’d planned. What’s on your plate this month? Too many kids’ concerts,
Holiday Hacks: Ten Tips to Make Your Life Easier This December Read More »
This Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe is the Ultimate in Easy Soup Recipes: As in, “everything but the kitchen sink soup.” In other words, this is another super-flexible recipe that can help clear out your fridge and eat up your leftovers. Throw together a round of these on the side, and you’ve got dinner on
Need Comfort Food Fast? Try Kitchen-Sink Soup Read More »
So it’s days from Halloween last week, and I’m dashing out to bulk up our candy supplies for trick-or-treating. Just one problem, though: I had a hard time finding the Halloween candy, thanks to all the Christmas displays already out in full force. Funny, I had the same problem when finishing back-to-school shopping – in
Do you need NO November? Read More »
Most of the time, when I think of “hacks,” I think of the make-your-life-easier tips and tricks to which this website is devoted. But when I see all the winter squash and fresh pumpkins that are now front-and-center in the produce displays at supermarkets and farmer’s markets, the last thing I want to think about
Winter Squash Made Easy: How To Cook Winter Squash in Less Time Read More »
Plenty of mamas with elementary education degrees have created super posts and printables that can help you teach your preschoolers math, all based on sound educational theory (for example, see here and here, and even here). As a mama with no formal training in this area, I’ve stumbled upon a different approach. Many preschoolers love
Sneak Some Math Into Your Preschooler Read More »
My husband teaches math for a living. To kiddos much older than ours. Because of this, I wasn’t surprised when my friends began asking me, years ago, what we were doing to teach the girls math. Truth is, when the girls were still infants and toddlers, I was the one with them most of the
Math for the Diaper Set: Six Ways to Get Started Read More »
Maybe this is your first fall making school lunches for your kiddo. Maybe you’re looking to revamp the routine. Or maybe you’re realizing that the beloved PB&J’s of your childhood won’t work for your own child’s peanut allergy, or your school’s ban on peanuts. Whatever the cause, you find yourself in need of some back-to-school-lunch
Ten Tips for Better Back-to-School Lunches Read More »
(And How To Make Your Own Chore Charts!) I used to think having a chore chart was silly. My mother never used them, so why should I? Now, we’re a family of converts. What happened? Summer. And with it, a complete breakdown of most of our normal routines. Does this sound familiar? Despite my periodic
How We Became Chore Chart Converts Read More »
Kimmie starts kindergarten this week. She can’t wait. She is soooo ready. Her first day of preschool, she marched right into the building without a backward glance. Kindergarten will be the same way. That is, as long as she survives the bus ride. Don’t get me wrong; she can’t wait to ride the school bus,
Why Mama’s Crazy Rules Matter Read More »
Overall, our first family camping trip went quite well. Still, though, I’m someone who’s always looking to improve things the next time around. So on the way home from our first camping expedition with kiddos a few weeks ago, I made a list of things I wish we’d done better. Sure, it would have been
Our First Family Camping Trip, Done Better (Learn From Our Mistakes!) Read More »
We survived our first family camping trip with preschoolers in tow. Not that there was ever any doubt – my husband and I have both loved camping since we were in Scouts – but still, we’re pretty pleased overall with how smoothly the weekend went. For the most part, our previous experience in planning camping
Must-Haves for Family Camping with Preschoolers Read More »
This weekend marks our first family camping trip. My husband and I used to camp (or at least hike) every summer, back in our pre-parenthood existence. The further away from home our car-camping and occasional backpacking trips took us, the better. We’ve been kept awake all night by the foghorns near the Bay of Fundy
Prepping for our First Family Camping Trip Read More »
For many of us, summer is a time to travel, to take in some hiking, to do things together as a family. But for some of you, this may be your first summer doing these things with Baby, or with more than one child. Which raises the question, how are you going to schlep those
Oh, the ironies of parenting. Not twenty-four hours after publishing my last blog post, on finding your kids’ reset buttons, I found myself mentally running through my own checklist, searching in vain for one of my own tricks that would work on a five-year-old who stubbornly resisted each and every attempt I made to help
Reset Buttons Broken? Try Using a Code Word Read More »
It’s one of those days (hours, minutes), and you’re at the end of the rope. You just wish your kid had come with an on/off switch, circuit breaker, or some other way to turn her off. Then you could power her down, reboot her, and start all over with a clean slate. Or maybe it’s
Finding Your Kids’ Reset Button: My Top Ten Hacks Read More »
My house is a mess of unpacking, my writing is behind schedule – can you guess that my family and I have just spent the past few weeks on various road trips? For many families, summer means travel. But the reality is that in two-parent households, parents can’t always coordinate limited vacation time with other
Sanity-Saving Hacks for Roadtripping Solo With Small Children Read More »
It’s 1:15 a.m. My husband and children are once again sound asleep upstairs, but I’m wide awake. That’s because a half-hour ago, my dear husband nudged me out of a deep sleep and informed me that Essie wanted me. Translation: Essie had to go potty, and it was my turn to deal with it. No
Toilet-Training Your Monster, Commando Style Read More »
Both of our children have been way ahead of the curve in some areas (mostly academic), but have taken a more leisurely approach in others. Kimmie was nearly eighteen months old before she mastered the art of independent walking, and for Essie that skill didn’t come until the age of sixteen months. And then there’s
On Toilet-Training Your Monster Read More »
Serves 4-6 as a main course; doubling recommended This recipe is a favorite not just of my family, but of every family I know who’s tasted it. And not only is it super-yummy, but it’s another great way to use up leftovers, from leftover cooked rice to random chunks of meat. Moreover, like many of
Family-Favorite Fried Rice Read More »
