I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This past weekend we participated in General Conference. It is a 2 day conference, where through the power of the internet and other modern technology, we can listen to our Prophet and leaders of the Church share messages of hope and peace through Christ, and also …
Changing Our Mindset: We are Not Homeschooling- We are Crisis Schooling
This week the Principal at my children’s elementary school sent over a link to a blog post that changed how I am viewing our current schooling practices. This brilliant author and teacher introduced the concept that we are not homeschooling, we are crisis schooling. “You are NOT homeschooling. You are CRISIS schooling. There is a huge difference. You may choose …
Fifteen Essential Oils That Have Disinfecting Properties Plus DIY Cleansers
Right now, we all know that you are hard pressed to find a can of Lysol or a package of sanitizing and cleaning wipes just about anywhere. The good news is though, that even if you can’t find those items, you can still find some great essential oils that have antimicrobial properties and can help to boost the effectiveness of …
Love and Service In Scary Times
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Within the Church we utilize volunteer member leaders, and members are given callings or assignments. Sometimes this can be at a larger global level or it can be right in our own neighborhoods and communities. My current assignment for the past 2 years has been that …
How Female to Female Aggression In The Work Place Is Hurting The Feminism Movement
Many of you might perhaps be unaware of this, but my “day” job is that of a public relations consultant. I have my own consulting firm and I work with several clients in order to help their companies and practices grow through strategic plans and through interior business modeling and development. All of that is fancy speak for this; I …
Five Tips For Teaching Kids To Declutter
I firmly believe in the power of feng shui and how items are placed and oriented in a room work towards controlling the energy in that room. If you have too much stuff, I believe your aura gets cluttered, and the energy flow in that room gets stifled. As adults, we mostly understand this. Even if we don’t always practice …
Try These “Lucky” New Year Celebration Ideas From Around The World
Celebrating all of the possibilities of a New Year is something that has always been exciting to me. Universally, it gives us an opportunity to focus on banishing the old or “unlucky” from the past year and welcoming the new and “lucky of a new year into our lives. I like that globally we are united in a common goal, …
Gifts You Can Give Your Kids This Holiday That Don’t Cost Anything
This weekend I took my kids to decorate their Grandma’s bedroom for Christmas. My mom lives in a care home and is in end-stage heart failure. We aren’t sure at this point how much time we have with her. As I watched my kids excitedly decorate her room and show their Grandma all of the “treasures” they had brought to …
Ditch Spending The BIG Bucks On New Retainers
*I received a complimentary retainer kit from JustRetainers in order to facilitate this post. No other compensation was received. Five years ago my oldest daughter Samantha had her braces taken off. She was beyond excited to get those metal bars of torture off of her teeth. The braces had done their job, and her smile was beautiful. Here she is …
What You Can Do To Prepare Your Child For An Active Shooter Situation
I saw a post on Facebook recently about a mom who made a tee shirt she wore to drop her kids off at school on their first day. The shirt said, “A teacher’s commitment to a child’s learning should equal your commitment as a parent.” I loved this shirt and would suggest that in fact our commitment as a parent …
Northern Italy: Milan, Turin and a Return To Paris
I promised myself that I would finish off our Paris trip recap before the summer ended. Technically that didn’t happen, but it’s still summer for some of you reading this so it counts right?! If you are just tuning in you can read about the rest of my daughter Sam and my adventures here; Paris Day 1, Versailles, Louvre, and …
Back To School Graham Cracker Stick Pencils
Remember when my family got out of school back at the end of May? Well there is a pay-day for that early release, and that means that we start back to school tomorrow on August 1st. Yikes! We are ready though. The supplies have been dropped off, clothes bought, teachers met, and fees paid. I love having my crew home …
Five Tips For Parenting Teen Boys
Back in 2014 when this blog was brand new I wrote a post with 7 Tips For Raising A Son. My son was around 9 at the time and flash forward to 5+ years later, that smiling little guy is now a smiling, handsome, and very tall 15 year old. Caleb is one of those rare souls who people instantly …
How to Plan the Perfect Paris to Versailles Day Trip
Hi everybody! I am back with the 2nd installment of my recent mother-daughter trip to Paris. You can read all about our first day here, but today’s post is all about the Chateau De Versailles! How to Plan the Perfect #Paris to #Versailles Day Trip. #travel Click To Tweet For a little history, the Palace of Versailles was the principal …