Sunlight radiated off a nearby hill. Below us a small lake rippled in the gentle breeze. My daughter and I ate our lunches at a shady picnic table, watching archers arrange targets in the range across the parking lot. It gave us just enough time to observe the local protocol before pulling her bow and…
Announcing the Mom to Mom Gratitude Gala & Giveaway
Life is hard. Parenting is hard. But even in the midst of the toughest days, we can find gratitude if we know where to look. And that thankfulness can go a long way toward re-framing (and dare I say, sometimes even changing) those tough days. And on the good days? Well, it’s hard not to…
How to Create a Bucket List Pin
Pinterest can be a great place for documenting your bucket list. And with bloggers like supremebucketlist, bucketlistforgirls & perfectbucketlist popularizing the bucket list pin, you can find plenty life list goals to pin. But what if you want a pin that doesn’t exist? Or if you’re not sure about copyright infringement? Make your own. With…
A Month of Thankfulness
Happy November! Have you started counting your blessings yet? You might want to think about getting a head start on it. Because by the time Thanksgiving arrives, we’re so revved up to launch into the holiday season, that Thanksgiving itself gets the short end of the stick. We spend one day watching parades and football…
Why You Should Face Your Fears
I hate haunted houses. Actually, I’m adverse to anything scary. No horror pics, Stephen King novels, or Fright Fests for me. For one reason: I scare easily. When my daughters agreed to play the role of zombies at the big All Hallow’s Eve event at our city’s living history museum, I was asked to help…
Childhood, Halloween Candy, Autumn Fun, & A Confession
I hope your family had a fun Columbus Day weekend – with or without the requisite fall activities. Our family did a bit of this and that, including attending our high school’s last home football game. I had forgotten the electric excitement of being among the crowd cheering on the marching band – I mean…
Permission to Think of Yourself, Mom
What do you want to do? What is your biggest dream, your highest hope? No really. What do you, mom, want to do most in life – today, tomorrow, next month? Can you tell me off the top of your head, without needing to hear other people’s answers first? I ask this question because I…
One Way to Improve Your Kids’ Decision Making Skills
So much to do. So little time. But do you ever make your children choose? And could making them choose under the pressure of “not enough time for it all” backfire? It’s easy to want to avoid making our kids choose between activities. We don’t want them to miss out. We don’t want to shortchange…
Meal Planning, Pet Choosing, and Other Helps for Moms
Today I’m staring down two bushels of apples waiting to be cooked and pureed. That can only mean one thing: it’s fall. Cranking out our own fresh applesauce is a favorite (if time-consuming) tradition in our household. We also love jumping in leaf piles and visiting corn mazes. There’s so much to savor about autumn….
When “Super Moms” Make You Feel Small
I’m waiting at a stoplight when I see one again: that oval sticker on the back of a minivan that says “26.2” (or sometimes “13.1″). Are you tired of those yet? Because I am. And not because I think those who have completed a marathon don’t deserve to boast. They do. Completing a 26.2 mile…