After juggling our chaotic schedules throughout the week, we look forward to Saturdays as a way to escape from the busyness of life. Most Saturdays find us on the road, exploring anything from an antique shop to a roadside market. We’ll venture just about anywhere within a 2-3 hours radius of our home.  One of our favorite day-trip destinations is Leesburg, Va. This two hour drive weaves us through the winding backroads of three different states, while showcasing local farms

Beyond the cascade of vibrant colored leaves and the array of pumpkins on display from porches to gas stations, there is another,...

While summer will linger on for another three weeks, Labor Day marks the “unofficial” end of summer. During this holiday weekend, you may...

I once taught a small group of boys. At only 7-8 years of age, this group already held the title of being "problem children". With a slew of people who knew of their antics first-hand, I wondered how I could reach these young boys and achieve a different outcome. Thinking back to a child psychology course I took in college, I remembered learning that the term currency can be applicable outside the world of money and finance. According to psychologists, everyone has their

When the temperatures start to soar and the "dog days" of summer are upon us, I often find myself lacking in both motivation and inspiration. In this state of mind, summer vacation can become monotonous, for parent and child alike. To avoid this familiar scenario, which frequented the summer months when my children were young, I initiated Make It Mondays . The purpose behind Make It Monday was to provide a scheduled time each week for creativity. While I am all about sponta

Memorial Day signals the unofficial start of summer. As another school year comes to an end, students across the country celebrate the...

Sewing has never been my forte. In fact, my first brush with sewing occurred in the 7th grade. Running in tandem with a required Home...

In the summer of 2023, my family lost everything in a house fire. Rather than going on a much anticipated vacation while our children...

When our children were between the ages of  7-10, I felt it was time to teach them how to cook. I’ll admit, there were many  times when I questioned my sanity surrounding this decision. Like most families, we were juggling work, school, sports, & music lessons, as well as church and community responsibilities. More often than not, it would’ve been much easier and more efficient for me to just make a meal myself. Tackling this goal wouldn’t be easy or convenient, yet I knew my

When our children were young, my husband and I wanted to instill a strong work ethic in them. Around the time they started school, we introduced our children to the concept of  “chores”. However, we decided to take a different route from the traditional chores we remembered from our own childhoods.  To accomplish our goal, we divided the chores of our home into 2 categories: daily chores  and weekly chores , with a baggie labeled for each category. In the daily   bag there we

Growing up, my family consisted of  my parents and my two younger brothers. I am the oldest, and for the 1st seven years of my life, I was also an only child. Life was wonderful! However, that all changed when my brother, Neil, was born just three months after my 7th birthday. That’s not to say my life was no longer wonderful. It was, but  I was no longer an only child. After another seven years, at the age of 14, my brother, Sean, was born. According to psychologists, with a