• DIY-Mother's-Day-gifts
    family - parenting

    Easy DIY Mother’s Day Gifts That Mom Will Love

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    Easy DIY Mother’s Day Gifts that Mom Will Love Mother’s Day is fast approaching. Have you thought about what you might like to give her to show you care? Most people opt for gift cards, flowers, or store bought cards. Those are all great choices, but why not give mom a handmade gift this year? These DIY Mother’s Day gifts are a great way to show mom just how much you care this year. You can also combine a thoughtful handcrafted present with a small store bought gift too. There are no limits to what you might do to help…

  • Meaningful-Mothers-Day-gifts
    family - Food - Health - parenting

    The Most Meaningful Mothers Day Gifts #WorldVisionGifts

    April 27, 2015 - By 

    Mother’s Day is not a day I take lightly. I am a Mom because of a gift from someone brave and caring. Two different birth Moms gave us the gift of both of our girls. We are adoptive parents and might never have been parents without someone else’s sacrifice and brilliant gift. I am always mindful of that. My parenting experience started with a gift. The most precious gift of all. My own journey to parenthood very much reminds me of the power of the local and the global community. Each one of us depend ends on others for so many…

  • atlanta-georgia-restaraunts
    Travel

    Fat Matt’s Rib Shack – Interesting Atlanta Restaurants

    April 21, 2015 - By 

    It was our last night in Atlanta, Georgia after a great blogging conference last year in May when my roomies and I decided we hadn’t seen anything much of the city. That’s the problem with conferences in great cities. Sometimes you rarely have time to set foot out the door. So we determined to go shopping and hit a local restaurant, something that screamed Atlanta, Georgia. Conference food, while occasionally incredible, is also often either truly unhealthy, or dainty or overly sweet. While I loved the conference and got a ton of takeaways from it, my sweet tooth was aching…

  • Chicken Udon
    Food

    Kid Approved Chicken Udon Noodles – Cooking With Kids

    April 20, 2015 - By 

    Chicken Udon Noodles to the rescue! As my children get older, time is even more precious and demands on time are somehow even greater than ever before. But eating meals together is still important. Sometimes as a family we battle finicky appetites and hormones. That can be challenging. Very honestly, I can tell you that my tween and teen were so much less picky when they were small. As toddlers they ate everything I gave them. I never ever heard: “What’s for dinner?” or “Can I just make myself a sandwich instead?”   So cooking can be more challenging than…

  • 15 great gardening ideas
    family

    15 Great Gardening Ideas

    April 18, 2015 - By 

    15 Great Gardening Ideas will help you make the most of your outdoor space this year. This post also contains an affiliate ad at no extra cost to you.  Spring is here! I love growing things. It is one of the passions I only discovered when I bought my first house with my husband. Until then, I joked I was a serial plant killer. I could kill pretty much any houseplant given to me. BUT, given an outdoor garden and a genuine yard, that all changed. I started off growing the things I loved and quickly found that I enjoyed…

  • losing a pet
    family - parenting

    Farewell Hope The Guinea Pig – Losing a Pet

    April 14, 2015 - By 

    I know I am not supposed to have favourites but this little critter was my fave of all the guinea pigs. Hope was just a tiny little thing when we brought her home from the pet store. She was Payton’s guinea pig. She sadly passed away on Easter weekend. It was a really sudden event. Farewell Hope Losing someone or something you love is never easy. Losing a pet can be super sad for kids. My daughter was heartbroken. For those of you who remember we have had a slew of guinea pigs here at our house. The kids each…

  • What-does-ten-years-old-look-like
    active family travel - adoption and tweens - family - Parenting - parenting

    What Does Ten-Years-Old Look Like?

    April 12, 2015 - By 

    This past month my youngest girl turned 11 and we celebrated with a Minecraft cake and a sleepover and a family dinner at Lone Star Texas Grill. We all learned to ski together as a family in Tremblant the weekend before her birthday party. In many ways, that was the perfect start to sporty spice’s birthday week. This is the daughter I still joke never met a sport she didn’t like. The one who wandered off at Disney when she was four and nearly gave me a heart attack on the spot. The one who sported my eye shadow the…

  • Reese's-Peanut-Butter-Fudge
    family - Food

    Easy Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge

    April 9, 2015 - By 

    FUDGE!! Who doesn’t love fudge? Seriously. If you don’t love fudge I am not sure you are a person I can trust as a human being. It’s just not natural. I love fudge. I have lately had some challenges getting fudge right though. So when this Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge turned out, well I was super happy and felt I needed to share it with you. So here you go my friends: Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge recipe is below. It’s a mighty good thing this turned out because if it hadn’t and I wasted all those yummy peanut butter cups my kids…

  • carbon monoxide detector placement
    family - Health - homes - parenting

    Carbon Monoxide Alarm Installation and Maintenance is Key for Family Protection

    April 8, 2015 - By 

    Carbon monoxide alarm installation is important for the maximum protective benefit to you and your family. Tragically, everyone has seen the stories on the news of families that simply don’t wake up. Entire households can die from carbon monoxide, a poison that many people don’t even know is in their home. Carbon Monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and it can be deadly. There is nothing scarier to me as a parent. Danger from carbon monoxide poisoning is not restricted to any one season. It can be lethal all year round. That’s why carbon monoxide alarm installation, maintenance and replacement…

  • Family-Trip-to-Tremblant
    family - parenting - Travel

    Hugs from Dad #WordlessWednesday #Travel #Tremblant

    April 1, 2015 - By 

    I rarely share shots of my spouse here. Why? Because he hates having his picture taken. Sad but true. Husband of blogger hates having picture taken. Honestly. So capturing a nice shot of him on film is a big deal for me. I often point my iPhone at him when we travel and he turns or moves ruining the shot. Early in March we were all invited to Mont Tremblant to visit as a family unit. While we were there, the entire family learned how to ski in two days!! I am super proud of that, in case you couldn’t…