If you have more than one child, I don’t have to tell you how often kids get into arguments at home. You already know. My brother and I argued growing up and there were ten years between us, so when I tell you that our four children are all between the ages of 7 andKeep Reading…
If you ask kids what their least favorite thing to do is in the whole wide world, a large majority of them will instantly answer, “Chores!” Actually, I’ve been known to say the same myself. Still, doing chores around the house is an important part of growing up. But that doesn’t mean it has to feel likeKeep Reading…
Is there anything better on a cold morning than a hot cup of a coffee and a warm muffin? Don’t think so. I wasn’t much of a muffin eater as a kid, but once I learned how to make them as an adult, they quickly became a breakfast go-to. My kids are nuts about muffinsKeep Reading…
Lots of people think of camping as a spring or summer vacation and there’s good reason why. You get to spend all day outside, you can explore nature when the days are long, and you can wear shorts the whole time. But fall is also an awesome time to go camping as a family. AndKeep Reading…
I don’t think I ever had a single piece of banana bread when I was growing up. And I wasn’t the biggest fans of bananas either. So I didn’t grasp the full amazingness of banana bread until I was an adult. And, let me tell you, it is amazing. My kids love banana bread too.Keep Reading…
When my oldest was about five years old, I heard about this thing called a “bento box”. I was on an online forum and everyone was talking about them as if they were the bestest thing ever. I’d never heard of a bento box before. But when I ordered one for my daughter, I immediatelyKeep Reading…
Do you send a lunch to school with your kids? Sometimes we have our children pack a lunch, especially if we’re doing a field trip or planning a long day out of the house. It’s always a nice surprise to find a thoughtful note from a family member and, if our kids are having aKeep Reading…
Can we actually have summer without ice cream? I don’t know if anyone has attempted it, but that is one science experiment I am not interested in trying. Once the weather gets warm, it’s ice cream time. Even if it happens to be a weird heat streak in January. I’ve always bought ice cream fromKeep Reading…
Nothing quite says “summer” like a popsicle. I remember my parents getting the big bag of flavored freeze pops during the summer and storing them in the freezer. It was always a race between my brother and I to see who could get the rare blue raspberry flavored pop first. I didn’t know then thatKeep Reading…
Summertime is my very favorite time of year. I think I have that in common with most school kids. My kids always enjoyed summer break, too. Even though we’ve been homeschoolers for many years, we’ve always taken a break over the summer and this year will be no different. Still, though, I never wanted myKeep Reading…
Confession time: I am NOT an outdoors person. I wasn’t raised to spend a lot of time outside. I spent most of my afternoons parked in front of the TV watching cartoons. But my kids love being outside. Which means…I have to find a way to love being out there with them. And that’s whyKeep Reading…
Have you experienced a preschool meltdown today? We have four children and our youngest is now six, so we’re past the preschool stage. But I remember it so well. I’d see one of my kids go running by having the time of their life. 30 seconds later, they’re dissolving into a puddle of tears, generallyKeep Reading…
If you’ve been noticing that the tone of online messages seems more negative than it used to be, you’re not imagining it. And, worse, it’s greatly affecting our children. When we teach our kids how to be kind online, we not only stop the spread of negativity on the Internet; we actively promote good citizenshipKeep Reading…
When we first started having children, I thought “I’m going to be the bestest mom on the planet!”. I’m sure many of you did the same. In my mind, being the bestest mom meant taking my kids to the amusement park every chance I got. After all, that’s where I always wanted to go asKeep Reading…
Summer. It’s the most wonderful time of the year for playing outside. We live in the South and it. gets. hot. But that’s never stopped our kids from wanting to be outside playing every game imaginable. After a while, though, the same old games just don’t do it for them anymore. And that’s why IKeep Reading…
Going away to summer camp can be a little scary or intimidating for some children. And it’s not just children who may be a little uneasy. Parents can be too! Our oldest is going to summer camp for the first time this year. Well, actually, she’s doing three of them this year: tennis camp, STEAMKeep Reading…
Parenting. It’s both the sweetest and hardest job in the world. There isn’t a day when I don’t love my children – all four of them. But there are definitely days when I feel a little burned out on the routine of it. There is so much giving involved in parenting that you can startKeep Reading…
How many times have you heard the kids say “I’m bored” over the past month? I couldn’t possibly keep count of how many times my kids have said it. My best estimate is 982. And I think I’m guessing too low. We are pretty conservative with screen time, so we only allow the kids to playKeep Reading…
Did you know that the Earth rotates at a speed of about 1000 miles an hour? I remember learning that in school and thinking “It doesn’t feel like it’s going that fast to me!” Fast forward 25 years and I think it feels like it’s at least that fast, maybe faster. Maybe I just needed toKeep Reading…
You ask your tween “What’s wrong”?” She looks down and away from you. Replies “Nothing.” You say “No, there’s definitely something. You can tell me about it. What’s going on?” She responds “Nothing! Why do you keep asking me about it?” before folding her arms and retreating to her room. If you’re nodding along asKeep Reading…
Blogging is a pretty solitary occupation, isn’t it? We spend a lot of our time sitting at the computer by ourselves. Then we spend a lot of our time taking pictures and editing them – by ourselves. Then we spend a lot of time promoting this content across social media – also by ourselves. BloggersKeep Reading…
