Congratulations, you are pregnant! You have been down this path once, twice (maybe even more times). You know what to expect from your body, your spouse, and friends. But there is one unknown factor this time - your toddler! The little being who up until now has been your baby. The cherub who View Post
How to Use Perler Beads and Get Creative
Fuse beads, Perler beads, fun-beads-to-stick-in-your-nose: Regardless of what you call these beads, I am THRILLED to have bought BUCKET LOADS of the little plastic cylinder-shaped beads. I spent countless hours in the 80s making coasters for my parents, grandparents and other unsuspecting View Post
10 Steps to Getting the Most out of Your Hand-Me-Downs
It's that special time of year, the one that everyone looks forward to... well, at least I do. Bringing out big boxes from our storage closet, opening the lid, emptying the content and looking at everything is a long afternoon walk down memory lane. Each and every item has a story and the older View Post
Fun Father’s Day Family Photo Session
Father's Day, birthdays and Christmas are all great causes of gift-giving stress. I never quite know what to get my husband who either has everything, or if he needs something, he buys it himself. Then one fine day, several years ago (four years actually) I decided to put the kids to good use. I had View Post
Taking Time to Tinker
The heavy rain drops are beating on our windows. The water is falling from the sky by the buckets, leaving us little to no chance of hitting the playground today. I am at home with all four kids. One is growing more restless than the other, it slowly spreads throughout the house like the plague. The View Post
Dreamup Toys Unites the Best Toys Ever Made! #KeepBuilding
Our three year old is your typical toddler. He loves to build, he loves to stack. He handles blocks and bricks like a professional. He creates, tears down, piles up and knocks over. He is a busy little guy. His favorite toys are the ones handed down by his two older brothers: a big bin full of View Post
Captain Citrus Saves the Day in Four Different Ways!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Florida Department of Citrus for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. In a house full of little boys, there is great emphasis on super heroes, their incredible powers and how they always end up saving the day. Each of our four boys have their own View Post
Son, I Failed You!
Dear Son, I failed you yesterday! I didn’t see you. I did not SEE you all day – and now I miss you terribly, probably as much as you miss me. I am sitting here thinking back on the day that passed , and I realize that I went an entire day without truly seeing my boy. The morning was View Post
Angry Birds, Polymer Clay, and Boys – Oh My!
We recently discovered a super fun craft activity for the boys: making our own Angry Birds out of polymer clay! The clay is a little harder to manipulate than PlayDoh, which is perfect for our purpose. I am always looking for ways to strengthen the boys' fine motor skills and hand muscles. View Post
The Incredible Things You Realize After Your Kids Have Been Sick
We are just coming off a few weeks of back to back to back illnesses of varying degrees and origin. With four boys in the house there is often some type of germ, bug or other contaminant in the house. However, the past several weeks were more "interesting" and educational than I recall in recent View Post
Parenting is Hard! – And Then These Things Happen…
I am just going to put this out there: PARENTING IS HARD! Ok, I said it - and I am sure you agree, unless you don’t have any kids yet (because then you confidently have all the answers and solutions). But if you consider any number of children yours by birth, adoption, default or surprise then you View Post
Harmful Sibling Favoritism! Are You Guilty?
I recently read an article on NPR.org: "Kids' Perception of Parents' Favoritism Counts More Than Reality." Researchers found that when children suspect that they are the least favorite there is a higher chance of risky behavior such as drug use in the later teen years. They also determined there to View Post
Letting the Outside In!
We have lived in a social vacuum the past many years - and I say that with all the pride and love in my heart. Our little family grew from two, to three, four, five and now six all within a relatively short while. We have been a little self contained unit when it comes to entertainment and social View Post
The Dinner Time Blues
Some evenings I just dread dinner time. There I said it - dinner time can be a struggle, annoying and heart breaking. Yes, granted it is a time for the whole family to gather around the table, to share a meal and stories about our day at work and school. But wait , I said “share a meal”! The MEAL View Post