Family | The Playdate Crashers

Another Goodbye

This week I removed the leaf insert from our dining room table to take the seating configuration from six down to four. An outside observer might think that we had hosted family gatherings over the holidays and were a tad belated in returning our … Continue Reading

My Simple Trick for Disorganized, Forgetful Kids

My simple trick for disorganized and forgetful kids (especially kids in foster care)

The girls have been with us for almost three months. But if you ask them, they might say they've been here for 3 weeks. Or 9 months. They aren't sure. They have a lot of trouble keeping track of time - days, minutes, hours. They're constantly asking … Continue Reading

Foster Care Wish Lists: How friends and family can help

After we announced to our friends and family that we were starting the process of opening our home as foster parents, we had several people ask how they could help. In the beginning, it's hard to know what you might need - you have just started your … Continue Reading

How Cozi Saved My [Foster Parenting] Sanity

So have I mentioned that we got our first foster care placement? Probably not. 'Cause things have been straight up bananas at our house. We got our first "real" foster placement last month. It happened in an absolute whirlwind the first week of May. … Continue Reading

Open Beds & Open Hearts

Oh friends, how I hoped three months ago, that by now (mid-April), I would have more to tell you about our foster care story. I hoped and prayed that our empty bedroom would be full by now, that we would be settling in with a placement and really … Continue Reading

Hurry Up and Wait

It has been an exciting time at our house since my last post! We completed our Foster Care Certification classes on Thursday, January 15th and then had our final pre-certification home visit on Monday, January 19th! After that, we waited for my … Continue Reading

The State of the Blog Address

Once upon a time, I started a blog. I had big plans for the blog and spent many hours devoted to it. It was my third child and I was determined that it would grow up into a big girl project with many readers and sponsorship deals. Then one day … Continue Reading

Forever Mom

Today's post is more than a book review, it's me opening up with something more personal than anything I've shared here on the blog in more than a year, since I went back to work full-time. For about two years, I've had a tugging on my heart to … Continue Reading

Answering Your Disney Questions

Oh hi! *waves like a dork* It's been awhile, huh? Yeah, I've been the worst kind of blogger-slacker in the past year, the kind that says "Y'all I'm gonna change my ways and really get my act together" and then never does. So sorry 'bout that. I … Continue Reading

The Blue Car

A few weeks ago, my husband and I took our boys, Miles (5) and Spencer (3) to see Santa. We had put it off several times because it just seemed like a big ordeal, we knew it would be busy, and we just wanted it to be "right." Do you know what I … Continue Reading

Radical Interpretation

My 3 year old, Spencer, is in Preschool this year. Unlike his big brother, he has ZERO interest in learning his alphabet, numbers, or colors or anything. But he IS learning, whether he likes it or not, and one thing he has learned to do is color … Continue Reading

Our First Family Trip to Disney!

There is much excitement in my house right now, over something happening during Spring Break of 2014. Our family will be taking our first trip to Walt Disney World, and I am absolutely geeked out and pumped about this! It has been at least 13 … Continue Reading

Low Stress Halloween

Going back to work has been great for me. I did love being a Stay At Home Mom for awhile, but at some point it stopped being fun, started stressing me out, and I began feeling like I was pretty crappy at my non-paying "job", because I wasn't getting … Continue Reading

Expectation vs. Reality: Walkie-Talkies

*sigh* … Continue Reading

Back To School Guilt Trip

Tonight is Back To School Eve at our house! Yes, we do start school a lot earlier around here than most school districts, which means if you live in one of those later-starting areas, this post should serve as my warning or reminder to you -- … Continue Reading

The One with Life Updates and Whatnot

If you clicked this post looking for a tutorial or giveaway, you're going to be sorely disappointed. This is going to be a stereotypical lifestyle blog post about what I'm up to this week. I won't call it a diary entry if you won't, mmkay? So … Continue Reading

Free Printable Cards (Download and Send!)

My husband and I manage to take a child-free weekend at least twice a year, thanks to my wonderful parents, who happily agree to watch our two boys. Last year, I started sending little treats and notes with the boys on their weekend stays to give … Continue Reading

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Looking for a cute photo with your cuties for Valentine's Day? Here's one that I did with my boys upon the suggestion of my mom (I think she saw it done somewhere last year). I used real lipstick, which did NOT come off easily, by the way! I … Continue Reading

Hey Hey, Look! It’s an announcement!

Next week, after my husband and I figure a few things out, we'll be sitting our boys down to have a little Family Meeting. We have some news to share with them, and who better than The Berenstain Bears to help us do it? I need to track down this … Continue Reading

Previous Experience – Irrelevant

I would like to take a moment to commiserate with anyone who has been job searching for an extended period of time. This job market? It is rough. I've been looking for a job for just two months now and I'm already so discouraged by the lack of jobs … Continue Reading