This post about building positive relationships is made possible with support from the American Academy of Pediatrics through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All opinions are my own. Positive relationships are vital to your long term mental health, whether you are an adult, teen, or child. However, relationship building isn’t easy. It takes time, commitment, trust, and a strong appreciation of one another. And when you find that one person (or two or three) that supports you … [Read more...]
The Importance Of Community Support In Times Of Need
April 28, 2020 by · Leave a Comment
This post about the importance of community support in times of need is made possible with support from the American Academy of Pediatrics through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All opinions are my own. The last few weeks have been incredibly challenging for many families. Whether you are out of work, trying to homeschool your kids, dealing with illness, or struggling through the loneliness of social isolation, this pandemic has had massive repercussions around the world. Now, more than … [Read more...]
Get Rid of Stress with These Anxiety Busting Tips
December 28, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
Stress can make our lives difficult. It causes our health to decline, our anxiety to skyrocket, and wreaks havoc on personal relationships. As we move into the new year, I want to get rid of stress in my life wherever I can. I thought I would share a few anxiety busting tips that may help us all live a more stress free life. Of course, we need to understand our own personal stress triggers in order to do that. And stress reduction techniques will be different for everyone. However, maybe some of these … [Read more...]
Family Tradition Ideas You Need to Start
November 12, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
Everyone has their own family tradition ideas that play a part in their holiday planning. I grew up enjoying the chaos of friends and family during the holidays. Big holiday dinners, multiple stops at different people's houses, playing with cousins and general chaos. Those were some great times that I look back on with fondness now that I'm an adult. After college, my husband and I moved halfway across the country from both of our families. After that, holidays had no cousins, or traveling, or chaos. It was … [Read more...]
How to be Productive Even with Kids at Home!
November 2, 2018 by · 1 Comment
This post about how to be productive with kids at home has been sponsored. All opinions are my own. Being a mom is stressful. You may have teens who need to be driven places and babies who need naps. There is homework to help with even though you don't understand basic math anymore. There are field trips to remember and possibly chaperone. And there are more after school activities than you remember signing up for. If you have any hope of getting the housework done, you need to learn how to be productive while balancing a baby on your hip … [Read more...]
Professional Family Holiday Photos for a Simple and Memorable Season
November 21, 2017 by · 7 Comments
This post about Professional Family Holiday Photos has been sponsored by Portrait Innovations. All opinions expressed here are my own. Over the years, I have taken a lot of really bad photos of my family. While they are amusing to look at, I don't want to send them to family and friends on my holiday card! I love looking back on the professional family holiday photos that I have had done. The lighting is right and they are in focus. The backgrounds are pretty and some of the special effects are truly beautiful. When I was contacted by … [Read more...]
Save Your Sanity with these Easy Tips for Busy Mom
February 10, 2017 by · 4 Comments
This morning, my daughter informed me that she needed jelly beans for school. Um, WHY? you ask? Because apparently jelly beans come in handy during math class for graphing and such. I really think the easiest way to save your sanity is to not have kids! Do I have jelly beans stashed in my pantry? NO! Because if I DID have jelly beans stashed in the pantry I would have eaten them all by now. Factor in the emergency orthodontist appointment and everything else on the to do list, some days I just want to crawl back into bed at 8 AM! I know … [Read more...]
Tips to Make Your Commute More Enjoyable
March 18, 2016 by · 6 Comments
When my husband and I lived in Texas, we lived about 2 to 3 miles from work. We took our motorcycle in or rode our bikes. It was a pleasant trip and we got to work without too much stress. Fast forward a few years and we find ourselves in Atlanta. The houses 'in the city' that were close to my husband's job were way out of our price range so we ended up about 20 miles out of town in the 'burbs'. The commute for my husband was something LESS than enjoyable. In fact, he was seriously miserable having to deal with city traffic every day. … [Read more...]
Tips For Finding Inner Strength To Become Truly Radiant!
June 2, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
This post about finding inner strength has been sponsored by Arm & Hammer™ through their partnership with SWAY. I have been compensated for sharing this information with you, however all opinions are my own. I am not what I would call a beautiful individual. I'm not overly negative about myself, just realistic. While I am not scaring little children who gaze upon my face, I am not winning beauty pageants either. I'm okay with that. Because true beauty comes from a person's inner being and not their outward appearance. This is a … [Read more...]
The Many Faces of Christmas
December 25, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who happens to be Jewish. We were talking about our plans for Christmas Day which, for me, starts way too early, involves many gifts and too much eating, and usually a nap by early afternoon. Her Christmas Day involves meeting several other Jewish families in the area for a buffet dinner at a local restaurant. She was annoyed because apparently it is a Jewish tradition to eat at a Chinese buffet on Christmas day but none of the Chinese restaurants around us are open. Apparently Golden Corral … [Read more...]
