Growing Up

In response to the recent walkout conducted by teenagers all over the US, people took to social media to express their opinions. This didn't surprise me. What did surprise me were the general themes of what I saw in the responses. The very same people who were voicing frustration just days before, following yet another school shooting, were also complaining about how this specific population chose to act on those frustrations. They saw the peaceful protest in commemoration of the fallen and the effort to generate a national conversation about gun violence as ineffective and an immature attempt to skip class.  I guess that's what they think kids are into these days. Teenagers are often decried as being obsessed with...

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I remember the ultrasound technician at Angel Prints telling us, “Oh, look! She is sucking that thumb!” and multiple times during that session, she pointed out to us our little unborn baby putting her thumb in her mouth. I was still in a bit of shock that it was a girl, but I remember thinking how adorable it was going to be to have a little thumb-sucker. And y’all, it so was. As she got a little older, though, I worried and fretted continuously about her thumb-sucking habit becoming extremely hard to break and didn’t know what I was going to do about it at all. At her first visit to a pediatric dentist,...

It is the night before your 10th birthday. The night before the fast track train to the teen years would start. You see, I had been here before already. Your older brother had taken me on this road when he turned 10. I had no clue what to expect when we went through this with him. How quickly time would pass, but now I know exactly how this goes. Tomorrow you will be 10. You will feel much more grown up, and you will ask me to do things you know I don't think you're old enough to do. Then suddenly, you will be 12 and I will wonder how in the world had we already gotten here. And then in...

The holiday season is upon us and I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed with getting so much done in such a short amount of time. I know, I know ... I have all year to prepare but I’m apparently a procrastinator. Thankfully, we have a very small family but there are so many holiday / Christmassy things I want to do and I only have so many days to do it. So if you’re anything like me and need to unwind and do some de-stressing, here are a few of my go to’s that I love to do during the holiday season. Hot Cocoa and a Christmas movie My favorite hot chocolate is Ghirardelli and I add crushed peppermint...

Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Give Back During the Holidays I love giving to others during the holiday season. Whether it’s the perfect gift for a friend or an item to someone in need, giving to others completes my family’s holiday traditions. Children have a tendency to get so wrapped up in getting gifts at Christmas time. When my daughter was a toddler, I set out in a mission to involve her (and now my son) in easy ways they can help us give to those in need during this jolly season. We don’t have a large sum of money to give or a tremendous about of time to donate to a cause, but my family is blessed to have...