Practical Parenting

Tired of being a constant disciplinarian? Are you exhausted from serving as referee over toys, books, games ALL day long? Successful parenting doesn’t have to be so hard. The day I changed my parenting perspective from a reactive disciplinarian to a proactive promoter of positive reinforcement, my kids’ behavior changed…

This post was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #PGDetailsMatter #IC It seems like school just ended, and already I am racing around preparing for the first day of school all over again. Guess what? Teachers are too.…

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Kellogg’s and The J.M. Smucker Company but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SamsClubBTS  http://my-disclosur.es/OBstV EVERY night we faced the same frustration.  My girls wanted to read a specific book that was no where…

My mom once told me, “People will talk about your children in one of two ways: ‘Wow, your kids are so well behaved,’ or ‘Wow, please don’t ever bring your kids here again.’”  And while no one ever wants to be, we’ve all experienced moments of the latter. As parents, we…

I received complementary product from Stickerkid to facilitate my review.  As always, opinions remain 100% my own. With kids, comes stuff.  And with summer, more of their stuff just seems to get lost or left behind.  Schools, parks, playgrounds, pools – wherever kids congregate – are always littered with lost…

My Grandmother was best described as Martha Stewart meets Hints from Heloise, with a big dash of frugal added to the mix.  She demanded etiquette, regular mass attendance, and was as creative, practical and inventive as they come. I can’t tell you how many times my husband will say, “How did…

I received complementary product from Circle with Disney to facilitate my review. My opinions remain, as always, 100% my own. My girls are still young at 4 and 2.  But monitoring their screen time, and what they access while they use their iPads, already keeps me up at night!  What…

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PottyTrainTogether #CollectiveBias Potty training is hands down my least favorite part of parenting to date.  Potty training my oldest scarred me, and left me in no rush to begin potty training my second child,…

Grab a glass of wine and your iPad or Kindle… it’s time to download our Mom’s Book Nook selection for April!  Our little group is growing with it’s new Facebook home.  Get all the details below, and join the fun! Mom’s Book Nook – A Virtual Book Club A little over…

Over the last few weeks, I have shared the importance of making time for and taking care of yourself.  Equally important is making time for we – investing in your marriage and making time for the two of you as a couple is extremely important, and often times even more difficult…

The need for quality girl time doesn’t end when you get married and have a family.  If anything, I would argue you need it more at that point than ever before. The key is making time for girl time now that we all have our own families.  Here are my…

I remember it like it was yesterday. In the hospital after my first was born, they offered a session for newborn care, including how to give baby a bath.  I opted to sleep instead.  I had babysat and nannied for years – what was there to learn?  We came home…

It’s easy to lose yourself as a mother. It is especially easy to lose yourself as a stay at home mother.  So much of my life and who I was before kids revolved around my career.  Before kids, for all of my adult life, I had worked long hours, traveled,…

Confession.  I have a tendency to act like I have it all together, all the time… until I can’t anymore, and I have a mommy meltdown.  With 3 kids there is no more time for me anymore.  I have to make it for myself, and ask for breaks when I…

Your baby is 2-3 months old.  Your hormones are all over the place.  You’re averaging 5-6 hours of sleep at night, maybe 2-3 consecutively if you’re lucky. So when you wake up with aches, chills and temperature of 102, you automatically assume your body has lost its battle to some bug.…

In the last week, we’ve had three snow days and a weather advisory to stay indoors due to a windchill up to 30 degrees below zero!  To say cabin fever has set in would be an understatement.  For my own sanity last week, I needed the kids to burn some…

After the mudroom, my next favorite room in our new house is the playroom!  Getting the toys out of our family room was huge. Having a place for all the kids’ stuff AND in sight line of the main living space was a double win. But a playroom can also…

You get everyone out of the car, and they race into the house.  As you schlep extra bags, coats, the baby carrier and anything else left behind, you follow to find a trail of evidence in their wake.  Backpacks thrown on the kitchen counter.  Coats draped across the stairs.  Boots…

When we moved into our forever home in August, I finally had a dream kitchen with space for everything.  But that can be a double-edge sword. Space to store and stockpile, if not well-organized, can lead to lots of waste. We had also reconfigured our kitchen to eliminate a walk-in…