I shared at the beginning of the month that we are doing NO SPEND JANUARY in our household. After doing a yearly budget review, it’s a chance to reset and find the areas that put the most stress on our budget and impede on our savings plan.
If you missed it, I blogged about it last year – it was a huge success and a great reset for us!
more
I am so excited for today’s post – today is the first Let’s Look prompt where we link up with Shay from Mix and Match Mama blog and Erica from A Little Bit of Everything blog. I’m super excited about all the topics this year – they are just so creative and fun! So kind of them to do these link up parties!
Today’s topic is, scheduling/organizing a busy family. I’m laughing because I realize how boring this one might be as I just wrote about limiting what my kiddos are involved in. We still do SOME things and seem to be running around in some sense, so I’ll share some of the things I do to try and make things run smoother.
more
Happy Monday my friends! I hope you had a nice and relaxing weekend! We had some plans cancel on Saturday, so it turned into a relaxing weekend, which I LOVE!
Today’s post is about something I feel super drawn to – that being a more traditional way of living in our household. Sometimes I sit back and reflect on my childhood and compare it to my kids. The amount of times I’ve told them, “when I was a kid, I used my imagination a TON and didn’t need guidance or instructions to play” – recently are too numerous to count.
Don’t get me wrong, modern day technology and living is pretty amazing. We’re able to get almost any items we need on our doorstep the next day, we can order groceries online and pick them up at the store or have them delivered within hours, we have access to countless food choices and can also have them delivered at our doorstep, we can access information at our fingertips and be aware of what is going on with family, friends and the world around us on a minute-by-minute basis. All that sounds amazing until you really think about it.
Technology and those modern day conveniences without limitations are negatively affecting us parents, our children and home structure sometimes we don’t even realize it.
I’ve already witnessed the addiction YouTube has on kids. Opening surprise toys and watching others play has become all the rage – messing with a child’s psyche and their own way of play. Tik tok (which I refuse to have) is another addicting platform that is awful for kids self esteem, their youth, mental well-being and should be banned entirely in my opinion.
The fast food convenience craze upsets me a bit. Now, obviously I love a good McDonalds Coke or Burger King fry once in a while, but constantly eating out just makes it easy for our children to form bad habits (I.e. what they want they get right then and home food is boring) and doesn’t give them the real nourishment they need. They will no longer want the “bland” (I.e regular fruits and veggies) and will crave all the processed sugars, sweets and junk they normally receive. Being able to cook and eat at home allows me to control what’s in my food, have my kids try things (even if they don’t like it) and enforce healthy eating habits and emphasis on such for my kids.
If there is no limit to technology and modern day conveniences – the core fundamentals of being a kid (using imagination, building self esteem and confidence, patience, exploring outdoors, enjoying the simple things in life) and a family unit will slowly be destroyed and our children will have a lack of understanding of how important these core values truly are. It’s my job as mom (and obviously Andrew as Dad) to show them, share with them and be the example.
Continue reading
It’s that time of year again! A time that I actually love – looking ahead to a new year and setting goals and realistic expectations for our household. Budgeting is something we rely HEAVY on! When things fall off the rails, we look back and see what went wrong and how we can improve it as best we can.
Coming off a holiday break and Christmas can be a tough way to end the year in the budgeting department. That’s why I’ve decided to jump on the NO SPEND JANUARY train again this year.
If you missed it, I blogged about it last year – it was a huge success and a great reset for us!
more
Good morning and happy 2023! I hope you had an amazing holiday season and you are feeling energized and recharged heading into the new year! First and foremost, thank you so much for coming to my blog and following along! I’m so appreciative and am trying my best to stay consistent in this space! Here’s to another year of blogging in the books!
Today, I’m assuming most of you are like us, heading back to school and getting back into routine once again. I have to say – it’s super bittersweet. I found myself crying yesterday. Yes, crying. I always get like this. I really love the slow, easy, free days with us being all together. I love the magic of the holiday season and their ages are just perfect! The pure innocence, joy and awe over the smallest little things during break just made my heart so happy. It also breaks my heart – I just wish it would last forever.
At the same time, I’m craving the routine. I feel wildly overstimulated from the past couple weeks (as I’m sure we all do!) and could use the structure back in our daily life! Ugh, it is such a weird thing, isn’t it! Wanting the kiddos around all the time, but then in the same breath, wanting some separation and peace!
more
Happy Tuesday! Today is a double feature! I shared my Day in the Life post – and I’m also sharing some last minute gift ideas you may need for a secret santa, white elephant or family exchange that are under $25!
more
Happy Thursday everyone! I can’t believe we are just 10 days away until Christmas! The kiddos are so excited – especially for Christmas break! Today, I’m sharing my girls gift guide with you in hopes to alleviate any shopping issues you might have! It’s hard to shop for people, so I’m hoping this guide based on what my daughter loves can help you!
more
Happy hump day everyone! It’s a Let’s Look link up, and today the topic is hosting holiday parties. This one is tricky because it is generally our parents having everyone over for the holidays. We joke – our house is the summer party house. Indoor parties are tough in our house because we have a choppy set up and not the best family room for everyone to gather together.
With that being said we have hosted a couple holidays so I will reflect on those!
more
Happy Thursday, I don’t know about you but we are ready for the weekend over here! Today, I’m sharing day two of gift guides and if you’re anything like me – I love gifting in a theme. Below I’m sharing some items that can be bundled together to make the perfect gift!
more
Happy Wednesday!! I hope you’re having a great week so far! Blogging has been a bit back burner as of recent, but I don’t want to stress about it! I always have to remind myself that this is a hobby and a useful and fun outlet – not my full time job! If you love reading other blogs like I do and happen to pop over to my area of the internet, I do apologize for not being so consistent! Maybe I’ll become better at writing 2 steps ahead in the new year! Anyway, I come back from a little break to share my holiday gift guides with you, and today happens to be a guide for WOMEN!
more
It’s a Let’s Look link up today and I almost contemplated not posting because this topic is super random for me personally! I don’t have a go to place to shop for my Mom and MIL, rather, we shop based on needs and wants. Gifting Mom can be hard! I know we struggle, but ultimately we look to get something they were needing first (or give money towards that item) then will try and find new/trendy things!
more
Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Today’s post is part of my “What/how I’m _____ …Wednesday” series. Today also happens to be National Stress Awareness Day. When I was mapping out the month I noticed this fell on today’s date, so I figured, why not open up and share how I have been trying to manage stress and anxiety in my life.
I didn’t think I was a super stressful/anxious person, but add family, constant chatter and serving as the referee to your kiddos day in and day out, it can wear on you! I’ve spent a lot of time thinking how I’ve become so tightly wound and found it actually is literally just that. Along with those things there are also physical and hormonal issues that contribute to this.
I’m sharing these issues in detail below because so many of us are dealing with the same things. We all have different factors causing stress and anxieties in our lives, some way more serious than others, but I’ve been determined to self sort it out as I never thought I could be affected by it so much. I have found different ways that help me tackle and handle stress. I have also discovered when I’m feeling triggered and how to avoid it. And obviously, I am working on improving areas of my life where stress can be easily eliminated.
Continue reading
Good morning and happy Tuesday! I’m posting this Tip Jar Tuesday a bit late, but oh well! The kiddos had a great Halloween, the weather was beautiful, but there are still some lingering sickies in the house so we have been laying low (including myself!). Andrew and I head about of town later this week for a wedding, so I’m trying to get things in order around here before we leave!
Speaking of getting things in order, I wanted to share something that has been extremely helpful for me!
more
Good morning and happy Wednesday! It has been BUSY around here, my goodness! This time of the year, I start the process of winterizing all the things! I try to button up as many outside items I can while the weather is still a little nice! I was planning on sharing some of my recent Amazon purchases and now that it’s Early Prime Deal Access for Prime holders. I thought I would share some of my tried & true favs around here.
more
Happy Fall all! Honestly, it is such a bittersweet time of the year for me. I truly love our summers here in Northeast Ohio – I love the weather, the long days, gardening, being outside – all of it! Fall is an absolutely beautiful time here too, but I start to think about winter. Doing my best to embrace all that fall has to offer and forget about hibernation season.
MorE
Good morning! Today, I’m sharing a tour of my garden for September. As I sit and write this – I’m starting to get bummed the flower season is dwindling. I can’t get out and cut super early in the mornings anymore (because it’s dark) and growth/ production slows a bit when the temps start dropping. I do keep reminding myself – there is still a solid month of flowers left, but wow what a fun growing season it was!
more
Happy Tuesday! I missed posting my July garden tour last month so playing a little catchup! Sharing some glimpses of the garden with you today!
more
Good morning and happy Tuesday! I’ve been tending to some sick kids and also trying to get things ready for back to school before leaving for vacation! I put together a list of to-do’s to have completed prior to the first day of school!
more
Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Today I’m sharing a little project I’m working on – a face lift to our dining room! I am SO excited to finally get around to doing this! The space isn’t AWFUL, it can just be BETTER!
Sharing my vision board for the space. I really want to brighten it up a bit and add a little french country/farmhouse flair!
Continue reading
Good morning and happy Monday! We were rained out this weekend, but it was a good thing – we needed it big! I love how my garden seems to pop after a big rain! Speaking of garden – sharing some pictures from this month! I love seeing how much things grow when looking back at pictures!
more