children

When was the first time that you realized that your home was not like other people’s homes?  Growing up my mother stayed home and my father worked long hours. I believe that the area in which we grew up had many families who were similar in this regard. In terms of every day living, I think it was visiting my friend’s home who had a single mother raising her that I realized that not all families were the same. They lived in a basement apartment whereas we had a house. I had two brothers and two parents. Her mother ended

I was contacted by the folks at Chuck E. Cheese’s to check out their completely upgraded pizza recipe. This past year we have taken the kids to Chuck E’s a few times as they are old enough to enjoy it. I enlisted my mom and dad to come with me to try it out (hubby stayed home to paint baseboards). The pizza as it arrives. Yum! Grandma, Ava and Grandpa about to try their first bite Enjoying our game tokens Going in I was armed with the promise that, “with fresh cheese and dough, and high-quality toppings, this cheesier, crispier,

I realise I got quiet on the blog. Let me tell you what’s been going on. Remember at the beginning of August when I was dreading head lice? (read about it here if you really want to!). Well, it finally caught up to us. Ava has been scratching her head for a few weeks. I kept checking her head for lice knowing that we had been exposed to it but I didn’t find anything. Until we went to the park Wednesday morning and she hopped out of the car. What are those white things on the crown of your head?

Sitting down to dinner tonight was pleasant for the four of us. A nice serving of barbecued corn, chicken and nature burgers and a delicious salad. And then Ava (5 years old) sprays pukes all over the table. Then she continues to spray it all over the bathroom. The kid has the weakest gag reflex (and worst timing) ever! You know the reason she puked (this time)? She didn’t like the bite of corn in her mouth. Eye roll. It’s really hard to maintain compassion when it is constantly little things like this that make her empty her stomach contents

I have a great tip to share, thanks to Jamie at I Heart Naptime Crafts. Visiting beaches is a wonderful summer activity. When you are done at the sandy beach, be sure to use baby powder and it will wipe off all the sand so you don’t have to take the beach home with you. I’m definitely going to try it out today!

My relationship with my children is very important to me. The SITS ladies asked a tough parenting question as to how to parent when tragedy strikes. Do you talk to them about it or let them be kids? Personally, I think it all depends on what the issue is. Is it about an ill or deceased loved one or a world event? In either event I believe we should be honest. Age-appropriate is definitely important. I generally state the facts as succinctly and truthfully as possible and then ask if there are questions. For example, last week my grandmother (79

You know you are going through “one of those days” when you can come up with a list like this one. Blogger Suburban Snapshots must have had one of these days as I got this from her site. As a sorority gal myself and, thus, having attended many many fraternity parties in my university days I can attest to the truth you are about to read below. 10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub. 9. There’s always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner. 8. It’s best

As a child I have fond memories of going to church on Sunday mornings (or some Saturday night services where it worked better for our family). My brothers, sometimes a friend who enjoyed a sleepover, would sit together and sometimes listen but other times have “quiet” conversations while my mother hissed at us to be quieter. Now that I have a young family it is important that we start to attend church regularly. Today I spent a lot of time quietly praying for patience. I didn’t really get a lot out of the mass and I was embarrassed that the

We are so fortunate to have a pond in behind our house. In the winter it makes for an instant skating rink. I love looking out on snowy days and seeing it teeming with families and friends having a great time together.  This past weekend we went out and purchased skates for our kids so we can join in the fun. We bought strap-on-the-boot ones for Travis and grow-with-me ones for Ava. I’m especially pleased that she is at the first size so it can grow another 4 sizes with her foot AND she chose the Toy Story Buzz Lightyear