Family
Happy 4th of July
Do you know how I feel today? I feel blessed. This week I have the privilege of being back on U.S. soil to celebrate the 4th of July in my hometown with the people I love. It’s been awhile since I’ve been “home” for the 4th of July and I’m excited to share this day with my friends and family, but especially my kids. I picked out festive shirts for the kids to wear to the parade we will attend on the 4th. I used my stern mom voice to ask my son, “will you REALLY wear this shirt to the parade? Because I’m not buying it if you won’t…
Always Take The Trip
I read an article recently where the author shares the best parenting advice she ever received was to “always take the trip.” Here’s an excerpt from Annie Reneau’s article: “My friend Kelly has three stellar kids who are a bit older than my own three. I consider her and her husband to be model parents, so one day I asked her for her best piece of parenting advice. I thought she’d say something about love or discipline or consistency, so her answer took me by surprise. “Always take the trip,” she said. “When you question whether or not you should go on the vacation, just do it. Spend the money. Take the…
Memory Rocks
“Tell me a story, mama.” Every night when I go through the bedtime routine with my son, he asks me to tell him a story. A real story. THE PRESSURE!!! He likes stories with drama and danger the best. Like that time I got a flat tire going 60 mph down I-84. Or when the security guards at JC Penney used to duck behind garment racks when they were trying to catch someone stealing. The problem is my memory is TERRIBLE when it comes to these little, every day memories and experiences. Especially ones from decades ago. I’m not sure what I’m doing with all my brain cells, but saving…
The Unexpected Thing to Save When Your Parent Dies
My mom died in a car accident. To me, she is forever frozen in time as a larger-than-life, full-of-zest, tell-it-like-it-is, 52-year-old. Her 65th birthday would have been yesterday. The reverberations of her death echo through my family to this day. It irrevocably changed us all in ways that are still unfolding. Not a day goes by that she is not on my mind. Not one. When someone dies, there are immense amounts of mourning. Understatement of the year. There are also practical matters that callously intrude upon your grief. Decisions to be made. Items to be sorted. Paperwork to be completed. Things that must be done RIGHT. NOW. Before you’ve even laid the deceased…
That Time I Was SURE I Was Going to See a Unicorn
Most of us are never far from a camera. It is 2017 after all. We can document the fantastic and the mundane all we want. I can’t tell you how many pictures I have of the inside of my children’s noses just because they used my camera phone for 4.7 seconds while I wasn’t looking. I especially love the videos they make of their noses when they think they are taking a picture. Don’t worry. I won’t show you pictures of that. How about a nice sunset instead? Ahhh…. Here’s a story of a recent time I wished I had a camera, but didn’t. THE HORROR!!! Over Easter we visited family in Florida…
10 Tips for Surviving a Parade With Kids
Let’s talk parades. I LOVE parades, which just proves I’m a complicated individual. I don’t enjoy hanging out with large groups of people. I’m not very patient. And did I mention ALL. THE. PEOPLE? Yet, I love parades! It’s probably nostalgia knocking on my door. I remember going to a 4th of July parade as a little girl with my grandma and cousins. I remember exactly where we’d sit on a curb with a few trees doing a terrible job of shading us from the July sun. I remember cowgirl princesses on horses and beauty queens in convertibles doing that elbow-elbow-wrist-wrist wave as they slowly passed by. There were restored hot rod cars,…
I Just Want ONE Good Picture
One good picture. Is that too much for a mom to ask? We recently went on a hike. It was one of those “let’s go for a walk” moments when Handy Husband dupes us all and we end up hiking 7 miles. I’m fairly certain the entire trip was uphill both ways, but I probably imagined the snow and burning coals part. The mud was real though. If you can’t tell, there’s a chasm between Handy Husband’s definition of a “walk” and everyone else’s. But we are all healthier for it. If you ever go on a “walk” with my husband, make sure you pack your survival gear. You’ll probably…
School Break – I’m Totally Sleeping IN
Happy Monday! I slept in today because my kids have a midterm break from school. By slept in, I mean 7 a.m. My dumb internal alarm clock cannot pretend it is a teenager. Oh, and by internal alarm clock, I mean bladder. I really think I’ve got this “aging gracefully” thing down. I think I enjoy a week without homework and packing lunches as much, maybe even more, than my kids do! Not even exaggerating. All that to say, I’m taking the week off from blogging to spend time with the kiddos. We’re going to hang out with friends and explore more of Ireland. Follow me on Instagram to see where…
Travel: Copenhagen, Denmark With Kids
One of our goals when we moved to Ireland was to use our time here to explore as much of Europe as possible. We were able to visit two countries during the holidays: Denmark and Sweden. Since we spent the bulk of our time in the Copenhagen area, that will be the focus of this post. GETTING THERE Thus far, we’ve had good experiences finding relatively inexpensive airfare on the budget airline, Ryan Air. All 4 of us were able to fly round trip between Dublin and Copenhagen for less than what we have been used to paying for one roundtrip ticket on most any of our travels in the…
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Morning Affirmations for Kids
Have you ever muttered under your breath “you can do this, you’ve got this, you can figure it out, let’s get this done” before a big interview, or the first day at a new job, or when you have to take your kids for shots, or when you have to roll out of bed and you know there’s no coffee in the house? It’s a mini pep talk! Saying it out loud somehow makes it real and helps us commit to the endeavor. At the very least is helps us kick our behinds into gear. Or the coffee does… Image source) Have you seen those videos floating around the Internet…
