We spent this weekend in the company of my family.  My parents were in town, as well as my uncle, aunt and cousin from Slovenia.  And, my almost 92 year old grandmother was here as well.

There’s something nice about being around family, especially those you don’t get to see all that often.  And, for the boys, it was a wonderful experience in meeting a great group of people who are a part of their family history. Read more…

I came across a magnificent site on eemoms’ site for a program called “Piccassohead”.  It is a great art program online that helps you make a Piccasso-esque picture or portrait!  Go visit it, and send us a copy of your masterpiece!

My older son will have a birthday next month, and already the party preparations have begun.  We’ve done the “home party” with games in the backyard, lemonade and cupcakes, and a pinata to boot.  We’ve had the bowling party, all the friends at the lanes, lots of noise and fun.  And, we’ve had the “progressive party”, moving a small group of friends from activity to activity, ending up at the house for cake and ice cream before sending everyone home.

My least favorite part of birthday parties are the party favors, mainly because I cringe almost every time my son brings one home from someone else’s party.  Party favors typically comprise of a plastic bag filled with candy my kids don’t need and toys my kids lose/don’t play with/forget about after an hour.  I certainly want to make sure that the favors we send home end up in a better spot than the floorboard of a car or the trash can in the driveway. Read more…

I love giving gifts.  Simple “Just to say hello” gifts to whatever the occasion…I enjoy it.  My favorites are new baby gifts.

I don’t just give a gift to the new baby.  I always throw in a book or a magazine for the new mom (and a bottle of water - I remember always being thirsty!) and a small gift for any siblings.  This can be as simple as a package of playdough or crayons to a more specific fun toy.

When my younger son was born, one of the most memorable times in those first couple of days was having my older son help me unwrap a few gifts.  And, the look on his face when he found out the book and new music CD were for HIM and not his brother made it all worthwhile.

Don’t forget the rest of the family when honoring those newborns.  It is a big change - for everyone - when a baby comes into a family!

There is much to be said about boys and girls and how they differ.  After teaching public school (and before becoming a mom), I was sure that boys were the way they were because of the way they were raised, and likewise with girls.  It wasn’t until I became a mom that I could see it really didn’t matter.  Boys will be boys.  Girls are always girls. Read more…

I still get those emails every now and then that I got before my second child was even born.  You know the ones…”Your Child: Month 30″.  I usually delete them before looking at them.  Oh, they were interesting when I was pregnant and then when I was dealing with an infant again, but I’m too busy wiping spaghetti off the walls and cleaning playdough out of the carpet to sit down and enjoy them most of the time.

A couple of months ago, though, one caught my eye.  It was on Learning Styles.  I’m quite critical of things like this - you take a survey (and everyone fits into choice A, B, or C???) and it “calculates” your result, in this case, your child’s learning style.  But, I had a moment (thanks to an early bedtime) and decided to check it out. Read more…

This is, by far, one of my most frequented sites as of late.  Type in your location on this page, and it will give you your UV rating for the day.

Protect that skin!  It is the only skin you’ve got!

It is Vacation Bible School week here at my house, and naturally, the songs from the week are stuck in my head.  It is all I can think about and it is driving me CRAZY!

See, I’m the songleader for the entire group - almost 300 children.  It is exhausting because they are all excited, the songs are peppy, and I naturally fall into that “spastic mommy” mode with them.  But, by noon when the whole thing is over, I’m a zombie! Read more…