*This post was originally posted on Aug. 16, 2011, but I love these ideas so much and with my kids heading back-to-school tomorrow, I wanted to share them with you again today! I'm still catching up from being on vacation, so here's another great guest post for you! I love the idea of the time capsule, since this is my daughter's first year in school, it would be a great time to start that tradition! Guest Post by Stacey at A GOOD and SIMPLE Life: Back to school is just around the … [Read more...]
To be called Mommy
Mom. Mom. Mom. Mama! Mama!! MOOOOMMMMYYYY!!! We were driving back from our family vacation in Northern Michigan, and while the older two kiddos were watching a movie the youngest babe wasn't interested and instead wanted my undivided attention for about two hours straight. Jer and I were trying to have a meaningful conversation, which was pretty much impossible because we kept being interrupted every 5 seconds by her yelling, "Mama, Mama, MAMA!!!!" I'd say, "Yes, Blair?" and she'd rattle … [Read more...]
Vaccinating my Child: 15 Reasons I’m Looking for Middle Ground
I told myself that I would never write about vaccines. It is a scorching hot topic, and honestly I don't want to get burned. But here I am, because I have this sneaking suspicion that maybe I'm not alone in feeling the way I do. My daughter had her two year old well baby visit this week. And I was feeling very anxious leading up to the visit because I knew we'd have to face the issue of vaccines again with our doctor. Let me start by saying that I am not pro-vaccine and I'm not … [Read more...]
Babies Don’t Keep: Some Thoughts on Being Done with Babies and Breastfeeding
My baby turned two years old on Sunday. Deep breath. When did that happen?! I can still remember giving birth to her at home, in our bedroom. Like it was yesterday. And the newborn snuggles! Oh, the newborn snuggles. I just cannot get enough. Those newborn days are so fleeting. You're so exhausted, and yet trying to just drink in every moment. The days just seem to fly by too fast. And you blink and she's not a baby anymore. She's two, and she's running and talking and growing into … [Read more...]
10 Reasons I Am the Worst Mom Ever!!
According to my children, I am the absolute worstest mom ever! EVER! Insert: stomps off and slams door! When you ask them why, here's what they'll tell you. 10 Reasons My Mom is the WORST mom EVER! 1. She makes me wear my coat just because it's cold out. But I NEVER get cold! That coat is so big and bulky and totally cramps my style - what does below zero mean anyway?? How can anything be less than zero? 2. She wastes a lot of time making these terrible dinners every night that … [Read more...]
Tame the Toy Chaos: Setting Up a Toy Library
*Emily's note: Elizabeth and her family have been on a journey to simplify and minimize their stuff around their home for the past few years and back in September, she shared with us her plan for taking your home from Madness to Managable in just one weekend. In that post she mentioned her family's toy library, and we received a lot of comments and questions asking more about how to set one up, so she's sharing her family's toy library system with us today, perfect for getting control … [Read more...]
Saving Time in The Kitchen (With Kids)!
Young kids in the kitchen and saving time in the kitchen are not two things that you usually see together in the same sentence, right?! I'll be the first to raise my hand and admit that when my kids are in the kitchen with me that we often waste more time than save. And yet, over the past six months or so, I've really begun to see that with a little teaching, help, direction and then ongoing supervision (while I'm accomplishing other things!), my kids can actually help me with tasks in a … [Read more...]
Repurposing Containers for Toy Storage {Green in 365: Play Room}
This is Day 228 of the Green in 365 series! By Hilary Kimes Bernstein of Accidentally Green I used to think that my husband and I had a lot of belongings. And then we had kids. Suddenly, the contents of our home multiplied. First it was all of the bulky baby gear – a Pack’n Play, swing, bassinet, and strollers. Once my babies outgrew those things, then toys and books began to fill our house. Now that our children are reaching school age, their toys are shrinking in … [Read more...]
Screen Time in the Summertime with Netflix Families
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Netflix. My family loves our Netflix subscription, all opinions are my own. Summertime is in full swing, and I love being home with my kids every day, but I'm not going to lie, sometimes the days can be long. I love the warm weather, and we spend as much time outside together as a family as we can, but some days it's just too hot and humid to be outside for the whole day. My oldest two kiddos are only 20 months apart, and they … [Read more...]
Simple + Birthday = Green {Green in 365: Celebrations}
This is Day 183 of the Green in 365 series! By Renee from Joyful Mom As a kid I loved my birthday! A cake and ice cream! A simple celebration of my birth. I am continuing that simple celebration with my kids as well. For their birthday they get to: pick out the cake, pick out dinner, and pick out a fun family activity to do. My husband has also starting taking the kids out to breakfast on the weekend nearest their birthday - he came up with that sweet idea and the … [Read more...]
