Last night I headed to bed knowing that with a few inches of snow in the forecast, there was a solid chance I’d be waking up to (OMG AGAIN!?) a snow day. Sure enough, I woke around 5:30, grabbed my phone, and let social media confirm what I already assumed – no school. Rather than complain…

When it comes to child passenger safety, it can sometimes be difficult to keep up with the ever changing standards and technologies of today. However, it’s our job as moms to make sure we are informed so that our little ones are as safe as possible when riding around town. That’s why we rely on…

Anyone who has read my book (thank you!) Raising Digital Families For Dummies knows that I advocate for limited screen time for kids. I also suggest often that parents follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations regarding screen time limits and age restrictions. The key to making digital time work for your family is finding the apps, websites,…

Dear Neighbors, I don’t see many of you very often even though we’ve lived here for three years. You leave for work or stay in your climate controlled homes, and except for those occasional conversations we have while getting our mail, dragging our trash cans up the driveway, or shoveling snow, our interactions tend to…

Let me just say up front, I’ve never been a big proponent of the angry “Keep Christ in Christmas” movement. I delete the fired up email forwards my older relatives send each holiday season, and I try my best to not grab my torch and pitchfork every time someone shortens the name of the holiday…

Raise your hand if you still haven’t run out to buy that Valentine’s Day gift that you know you’ve got to purchase sometime before the end of the day tomorrow. *HAND RAISED* Well, let me solve that problem for you. As you well know by now, I’m a huge fan of all things Disney. My…

I’m going to be completely honest with you. I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. There is so much pressure put on this one random day in February, pressure to be your most romantic self and pile a whole year’s worth of love into one meal, gift, or card. But with that said, the…

In the spring of 1998, I watched my husband ask another girl out on a date. To be clear, he was just my friend from the other side of the hall at the time and not legally bound to me, so it wasn’t as inappropriate as it sounds. I was perched in my loft bed…

It’s official – you’ve made it through January and all the pressure to commit to a resolution for the New Year! Now it’s time to settle in and make some real changes that will improve your life in 2014. As promised, I’m coming to you to talk about fire safety again, a goal I set…

I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller….   (Now that I’ve got that song stuck in your head, let me save you the trouble of going to Google it.) Do you have recurring dreams? I’ve had a few throughout my life. Some began in my childhood and visit me…

Disclosure: This post has been written as part of a sponsored post campaign. I’ve received compensation for my participation in this campaign. Each year there are more than 1 billion cases of the common cold in the United States. In fact, the common cold is the leading cause of doctor visits, with up to 100…

The summer after I graduated from college, I lived with my boyfriend and one of my best friends, working and living in the same place I’d been for the last four years with some of the people I’d come to love most in the world. Then the summer ended, my boyfriend moved back to Texas…

One of my favorite aspects of blogging over the past nearly six years has been the opportunity to introduce readers to new products, services, television shows, and more. Next month we’ll be tweeting about two adorable new characters, but in the  meantime I want to introduce you to Toopy and Binoo. Toopy and Binoo™ is…

Most moms would agree, when your child is finally potty trained, its cause for a celebration. However, we think finding a fantastic tool to help parents and kids reach this important milestone is reason enough for a party!   Join us to share potty training tips and celebrate the launch of Me-ify Potty Star, the…

When I was 4 years old, my parents decided that I was ready for kindergarten (or they were ready for me to be at school during the day…) and enrolled me in a small Christian school on the other side of the mountain from my rural home. At the end of each day, we’d all…

My 9 year old daughter couldn’t imagine that an American Girl, Girl of the Year could get better than last year’s Saige…then she met Isabelle. We are a one doll family so each year’s Girl of the Year announcement brings with it the promise of new reading material rather than another doll to add to…

Last year I spent a week or so railing against the concept of choosing a word of the year. The whole idea of starting over on the first day of the year is a bit dumbfounding to me. Why do we put this type of pressure on ourselves when it is no easier or more…

(subtitle: EasyClosets Saved Two Rooms of My House) I’m so excited to unveil the results of my EasyClosets Total Home Tour garage and laundry room makeover. But first, a word about the design and installation. My husband and I worked together on both the design and installation process since we both spend an equal amount…

(subtitle: EasyClosets Total Home Tour Laundry Room and Garage Makeover) When EasyClosets invited my family to participate in the Total Home Tour, the first step after shouting, “YES, PLEASE!!!” was to select an area of my home to renovate. While my basement needs an obsolete toy cleansing and my office needs a full-on professional intervention,…

(subtitled: Why I Said Yes to the EasyClosets Total Home Tour) For a few years now I’ve received Good Housekeeping each month, the result of a gift subscription that I can no longer place, but continue to enjoy. With that said, years of reading this and other lifestyle magazines has done very little to improve my…

In the last several weeks, I’ve written some posts for Babble’s Disney Voices that were just an absolute pleasure to write. I at times feel guilty while I’m writing the content, feeling like I’m slacking and should be doing my “real” work. The truth of the matter is that my family and I genuinely enjoy…