This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and school staff gift ideas are mine alone. #GiveColorfully #CollectiveBias I grew up in a house of teachers. Each Christmas my parents would bring home a few odds and ends like ornaments or coffee cups with cocoa mixes in them. As…
In college, I took an Italian language course taught by my lovely professor, Dr. Love. She was vivacious, she was interesting, and she was a storyteller. And she almost ruined tortellini for me. For years I had loved to make and eat tortellini. Yet, one day Dr. Love told us a story about how my…
The absolute toughest day of kindergarten for Jenn yet was the day she came home after someone proudly declared “Santa is not real!” …and that someone was her. My heart melted and sank to the teeny tips of my toes when Ms. Kinsington started telling me about how 19 students almost lost their minds and sense of…
This year I have spent all twelve months stocking our family’s entryway closet with board games and activities. In fact, we have more board games for kindergarteners in our house than we have broken crayons and spare socks combined… and that’s a lot. Too many days in the past our family was looking for a…
Whether it’s a holiday celebration or just the clanking of forks from a meal shared together, there are always lively discussions when a large group of people break bread with one another. Arguments arise as our emotions take charge. But maybe there’s a better way. Maybe learning to take even just one step back to…
Many would say that I am pretty extreme when it comes to car seat safety. But even if you’re not, please keep reading. I’m not here to judge you, nor belittle you. Sometimes our family gets car seat questions like: “You continue to rear-face your child until they are FOUR?!” “Jenn is seriously still in…
Marriage is work. And while there are times that could be written in the most beautiful love movie, many of us also experience the muck of wading through the mud. But part of that is all relationships worth having take work. My husband came home from spending a guys’ night out with other dads from…
Smartphone addiction is real. So is letting a phone think for you instead of utilizing your own brain. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about sexting. Squirming in your seat yet? Or are feeling sweat drip down the back of your neck just thinking about actually handing your teen, tween, or even elementary school-aged child…
Several years ago I also heard about the 4 gift giving rule. You know “Something you want, something you need, something you’ll wear, something you’ll read.” It’s cute. But it always missed the mark for me. I would come up with ideas that were good, but didn’t fit the mold and personally, I desire the…
The Sunday before Halloween my husband asked me to coordinate trick-or-treating with a friend to which I replied “If it was up to me, we wouldn’t go. I don’t want all that candy.” I know. Some of you are in sheer horror and others are standing in solidarity nodding their heads thinking “next year, we’ll do…
The pings of popcorn popping in a covered cast iron skillet rang through the room as we gathered blankets, bundled ourselves in cozy winter pajamas, and picked out movies. You see, for the first time ever, we didn’t live near family and didn’t have plans to go anywhere for Christmas or New Year’s Eve celebrations. And…
Me too. Me too. Me too… Dozens of posts fill my feed. Dozens of my friends saying the same thing. “If all the women – and men – who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me too.” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” It’s pervasive. And…