I have heard many times that children lose a lot during the summer, but was really surprised when—a couple years ago—a teacher commented at the beginning of the school year on how my daughter had actually moved ahead a couple reading levels (while most of the kids had moved back a level or two). I hadn’t spent a lot of time working with my kids, but I did have things … Continue reading →
I often hear people say that dads are the hardest people to buy gifts for. I disagree. I’m a dad and I could buy gifts for myself all day long. First of all, there are a few misconceptions about what dads like. Once you understand these simple rules, buying for dad gets a lot easier. Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. Rule #1 – NO … Continue reading →
Instead of going for quantity of gifts (or “clutter” as Sharee would say) we wanted to go for quality. In other words, we wanted to spend our budget on a big family surprise that everyone could enjoy together and the clues were leading up to that big reveal. There were a lot less presents under the tree this year, but we tried to make them all count. We got each … Continue reading →
My husband and I made a dream board many years ago that we looked at often believing that the things that were meant to be would happen and the things that didn’t matter would fade away. Some of those dreams were starting to come about when our life took a crazy turn. Through moving and then circumstances that lead to both of us going into survival mode, the dream board … Continue reading →
I think we are celebrating the New Year holiday all wrong. Why is it that many of us begin each new year exhausted, depressed, and/or hung over? Why don’t we actually celebrate the new year instead of trying to send the old year out with an often undeserved bang? I’ve always thought it was strange that most of our celebrating occurs the night before the holiday and not much happens … Continue reading →
The Room Defender has been a hit with our family. It did take some parent help to get it attached to the door and to figure out the coding, but they have it down now. They enjoy changing the sounds the most. It has certainly kept little sisters out of their room. I hadn’t realized that the little ones went in their room during day, while they are at school. … Continue reading →
It’s about time I shared about my son’s birthday. (Read about the preparation here) Nano’s 11th birthday was fantastic. All the fun started when he got home from school. I’m always amazed what an impact the simple things can have. I had ran to the Dollar Store and bought balloons, a Happy Birthday sign, a birthday banner and a favorite soda to tie the balloons to. Less then $10 When … Continue reading →
I’ve always hated spaghetti. Long unruly wet noodles that won’t stay on your fork–sliding off at the last second and falling everywhere while making you feel like an idiot as you close your mouth over nothing. Rolling the noodles around your fork–flipping tomato sauce off of the shorter ones as you wind the longer strands that ultimately fall off anyway. Slurping a single noodle rudely up into your mouth and … Continue reading →
