Holiday

Brace yourselves... The Elf on the Shelf is coming!!! Or, he's already here for all of the moms who were actually on top of things enough to pull him out of the Christmas decor box on time. I mean, I don't know where in the world I even put my tree, but I'm glad you could find that tiny, creepy little elf in the pile of clutter in time for his arrival (or do your houses not have piles of clutter and that's why I'm so bad at the elf thing? It all makes sense.) But really though, as if I need one more thing to add to my list of ways I can fail as a parent! I don't know...

A few years ago, I decided to jump on the Elf on the Shelf  (in our house Jake) bandwagon, and I have never looked back. The original concept of the Elf watching the kids and reporting to Santa was definitely a draw, but this is a common misconception because the scout elf in the book also encourages good deeds. Regardless of telling good or bad deeds, I was sold on being an Elf family once I saw my kids' reactions to their very own Elf.  I admit that there have been times when I cursed the whole thing as I was walking to bed and remembered that Jake forgot to move that day, but overall I have been pleased with my decision to be pro-Elf. I'll...

For the past few years, our church has encouraged us to reach more into our imagination and less into our pocketbooks and give Christmas gifts that speak thoughtfulness and intention rather than throwing items into a cart last minute, wrapping them, and calling it a day. The notion of taking ourselves out of the spending machine that is what Christmas has become took a couple years for us to adjust, but I'm thankful to have the perspective shift. Now I really enjoy trying to think of unique and meaningful gifts to give people we love. If this sounds like something you would like to give a try, here are a few ideas for some specific people in your life. Spouse--A framed...

The holiday season is officially among us. And with it comes lots of traveling.  This week, we'll be featuring posts all about making traveling with our kiddos safe and bearable, maybe even fun! I know that we have all been there: you get in the car, back out of the driveway, and immediately your kids start fighting, or whining, or screaming for something that dropped on the floor.  For my kids, it's that they always want to watch a movie.  And I'm all for the convenience that comes with DVD players in vehicles, but I really try to use that for long-distance driving only.  In my opinion, my kids watch enough TV as it is.  Furthermore, when I was a...

The holiday season is officially among us. And with it comes lots of traveling.  This week, we'll be featuring posts all about making traveling with our kiddos safe and bearable, maybe even fun! My husband and I recently took a quick family trip – our first with just us three. We have traveled with our baby, now 9 months old, but this time was different: we were flying. All I could think about as the trip got closer was how nervous I was about the flights. Almost everyone has been on a plane with a screaming baby. I certainly didn’t want my baby to be unhappy, and I also didn’t want him to disturb the other passengers. But if motherhood has...