With three kids, six nieces and nephews and an endless stream of birthday parties for school classmates, I’m always on the hunt for cool gifts for kids. The trick: Finding something that the littles will love AND won’t make their parents hate me. (Hello, singing dog guitar.) As my kids will tell you, noisy electronic toys seem to mysteriously lose their batteries around here (sorry, not sorry). I think the
Read MoreMy Kind of Valentine’s Day
I sat down to write a Valentine’s Day blog post about the best gifts to give the ones you love, but…I got stuck. The truth is, I kinda hate Valentine’s Day. It feels so manufactured and cheesy, with overpriced roses, cliché jewelry and gimmicky prix-fixe dinner menus. Sure, I dutifully arm the kids with cutesy cards for their fellow classmates. (I do have a soft spot for the elementary school
Read MoreAll the Lessons 2018 Taught Me
Happy New Year! The start of a new year always makes me reflect on the last year and what a year 2018 turned out to be… My sweet daughter turned one whole year old. My eldest lost FOUR teeth and won his first medal in his first chess tournament. My middle learned to ride a bike without training wheels and began to write and read. We took the boys on
Read MoreMy Guide To Hacking The Holidays With Mastercard On File
You know that person who has all their Christmas cards sent, gifts bought and presents wrapped to perfection under the tree by the first week of December? Um, yeah…that is NOT me. I wish it were. I so want to be that person who doesn’t procrastinate and gets the holiday prep done way ahead of schedule, but every year the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas feel shorter and shorter. I’m
Read MoreChristmas Gift Guide
It’s officially gift-giving season and I am officially WAY behind on my Christmas shopping. In hopes of getting organized and inspired, I pulled together 50+ ideas for all your gifting needs. Some are splurges, some are steals. Some we already have in our home and others are things I wouldn’t mind finding for myself under the Christmas Tree (hint hint, Jared). I hope you’ll find some unexpected gifts you can
Read MoreSimple Ways to Practice Gratitude
Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to pause, sit down, and reflect on what we are thankful for. Every Thanksgiving, like many of you, my family has a tradition of going around the table to say what we’re grateful for. (Me? I’m most thankful when someone else does the cooking.) I know it’s a little cliché, but it’s a sweet ritual and I look forward to hearing what the boys come
Read MoreHow to De-Stress Your Thanksgiving
I have a confession: I’m sort of known as The Grinch of Thanksgiving dinner. I know, I know! I love the ritual of the entire family gathering around the table to show gratitude for all the good things in our lives. But actually preparing all the food is stressful and I’ve just never been a big fan of the traditional Thanksgiving foods. There, I said it. Luckily, I know a
Read MoreRock Your Vote Tomorrow
I have to be honest: I haven’t always been so passionate about voting. While I proudly cast my vote in the 2016 presidential race, there have been other elections—particularly midterm elections—when I didn’t make it to the polls. I intended to, but life got hectic and I assumed everything would work out okay without me. After all, I thought, my one little vote probably wasn’t going to make THAT big
Read MoreScary-Easy Halloween Recipes
I love the idea of a DIY Halloween party, of Martha Stewart-ing every last detail of my kids’ favorite holiday. But the sad truth is: I’m kinda terrible at it. I can admire a curated Pinterest board of perfectly decorated spider cupcakes and handmade costumes as much as the next mom, but “craftsy” is not a word I’d use to describe myself. Unfortunately for me, my kids are begging for
Read More10 Toddler Shoes I Love
Whenever Odette runs out of eyesight, I’m 99% sure she’s in my closet pulling out shoes. I guess you could say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, because I love a good shoe—whether it’s a sky-high heel, classic Converse, or beat-up cowboy boots from my days on Wildfire. But nothing is cuter than a pair of toddler shoes. Something about the tiny footwear just makes my heart melt
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