"How's the campaign going?"
It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.
Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!
The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring.
This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside!
For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here.
One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.
Tis the season of gift guides! I like gift guides. I do. However, instead of searching out things to include in a gift guide I decided to sit back and let the gifts come to me. All year long I've been keeping careful tracks of the products that I absolutely loved, products that I couldn't stop talking about, products that I had to share with you!
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®
Remember my amazing bedroom makeover? It went from this...
Tis the season of gift guides! I like gift guides. I do. However, instead of searching out things to include in a gift guide I decided to sit back and let the gifts come to me. All year long I've been keeping careful tracks of the products that I absolutely loved, products that I couldn't stop talking about, products that I had to share with you!
Tis the season of gift guides! I like gift guides. I do. However, instead of searching out things to include in a gift guide I decided to sit back and let the gifts come to me. All year long I've been keeping careful tracks of the products that I absolutely loved, products that I couldn't stop talking about, products that I had to share with you!
Today I'm featuring (and giving away!) my favorite book and CD of the year.
This (very early) morning I was featured on The Local 6 Today morning show on WPSD sharing unique toy ideas for this holiday season. We all know the hot toys this season - rainbow loom anyone!?! - but I wanted to share some products from smaller toymakers who are truly passionate about kids and play.
Tis the season of gift guides! I like gift guides. I do. However, instead of searching out things to include in a gift guide I decided to sit back and let the gifts come to me. All year long I've been keeping careful tracks of the products that I absolutely loved, products that I couldn't stop talking about, products that I had to share with you!
I love traditions. In particular, I love complete traditions. I like starting something from the beginning and never missing a moment in the cycle. One of my favorite holiday moments every year is when I put our family holiday cards on display. I have one for all ten years of our marriage. Even the year Nicholas lost his job and we sent email cards, I printed one because I knew I could not stand to have a year missing.
If I start something, I finish it. If I do it one year, I have to do it every year.
Well, considering there are approximately three million holiday tradition possibilities (BEFORE you search Pinterest) and all of them appeal to me on some level as a Christmas junkie, then what we find ourselves with is a bit of a situation.
My favorite child safety expert Pattie Fitzgerald is back with a new book, a giveaway, and tips to keep your child safe this holiday!
Every holiday season I get lots of inquiries from parents, usually with two concerns:
“How do I manage all those tasks and errands with kids in tow?”
“How do I deal with those big family gatherings where there are so many friends, relatives, and kids running around – especially if there’s that one relative I’m not so sure about?!”
When my 16 year old daughter was much younger, I was faced with the same concerns that every parent with young kids thinks about. There’s a lot to distract us (and our kids!) whether we’re at the mall, the airport, or Auntie Barbara’s house for her annual holiday bash.
Here’s what I did – and it worked.
For the third year in a row, I'm participating in the Month of Thankfulness challenge on Facebook. For the month of November, you post a status every day on someone, something, some place for which you are thankful.
I absolutely love it.
First because it helps me be truly mindful of all the things in my life for which I am grateful. In my experience, it takes about a week to cover children, spouses, family members we already spend a lot of conscious time appreciating. Then, you have to move beyond the round of the obvious and start paying attention every day to the things that bring you joy.
Second, there are so few opportunities to tell the people in our lives how important they are to us, especially in a public way. It's a wonderful thing to proclaim how much you love your best friend or how our life is better because a certain person is in it.
I've enjoyed it so much this year it got me thinking how much I truly love the social media platform that made it all possible.
That's right I'm thankful for Facebook.
