Growing Up

We have a 4 yr old, a 2 yr old, and 2 babies ... grocery shopping can get CRAZY. And don't even think about looking to Pinterest - I don't have the time or energy to do grocery bingo cards or come up with elaborate activities each week. But I love grocery shopping! Well, not really in and of itself, but grocery shopping with my girls is usually one of our favorite things to do. Here are some simple tricks I've used to make our shopping trips enjoyable.  Be Prepared. I usually look at my calendar and do a rough meal plan and create a quick grocery list from that. I include things like "3 types of fruit, 5 veggies and 2 kid...

We’ve all heard it before. “I hope you get one just like you.” It was usually said during a battle of wills or after a trip to the principal’s office and more than likely, muttered under their breath like a curse. You almost forgot about this hex placed upon your firstborn until your mom starts saying “just wait” when you find out you’re pregnant. Just wait for what? Super sweet baby snuggles? Adorable sleepy smiles? Nope. Revenge in the form of a tiny version of yourself. In one last attempt to drive my mom crazy, I vowed to see this curse as a blessing. It’s all in the interpretation, right? “I hope you get one just like you (because you were...

 HELP WANTED No formal experience required. Hours are flexible, but “on call.” Work at home in your PJs. Pay is not great and the benefits will change your life   Eight years ago, my husband and I decided that I would pull back from my interior design business to answer this “stay at home mom” ad. I envisioned the perfect 9 to 5, where my work involved kissing babies, mommy and me Pilates, girlfriend lunch dates with our quiet well-mannered mini-me’s, Netflix watching, nap taking, profession that was too good to refuse. Four and a half kids later (I’m currently pregnant with # 5 as I'm writing this), “too good to refuse” might just be “too good to be true” as I keep thinking “wait, that wasn’t...

You win some and you lose some when it comes to parenting. What your child wears, if they nap, what they eat for lunch, etc. These are all battles, per se. Battles with that feisty toddler or in my case, the forever challenging 12 or 6 year old. It changes by the day, but there are plenty of things I choose to let go of and not “win.” A few battles that are not worth fighting: I am okay with losing to what my child wants to wear. Any given day, you will see my daughter in her favorite pair of leggings with a mismatched dress. I am okay with this, I want my kids to be creative and be comfortable in...

When I’m not momming or doing volunteer work, my “real” job is working with the geriatric population at a nursing home. Trust me, I’ve heard “How do you do that everyday??” more times than I can count. But really, I consider myself lucky to work with such “well seasoned” individuals who share their lives with me and allow me to be part of their latter years ... and oh, the stories I have heard. For the vast majority of my career, I’ve been raising young children and for a while waddled around the nursing home as a pregnant momma-to-be. Many of the patients I see are parents too and share with me their adventures of the early years of parenthood....