Christmas shopping is one of those things that we all get frustrated with and complain about but, in reality, having to do Christmas shopping reveals the fact that we have people to love and people to love us right back. What are we to do though if a dear one is missing from our shopping list this year? Missing from the list because he or she has moved on from this earth? Instead of a tangible gift that we choose from a store, the gift we give is simply our grief. It's costly--just as a … [Read more...]
Cultivating Gratitude
As the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaches, we begin to plan out our holiday weekends. If you"re hosting Thanksgiving dinner, then you"re collecting recipes, planning your schedule of what to cook and when, you"re assigning family members their dishes to bring to dinner and creating your shopping list. If you"re a Black Friday shopper, then you"re sorting through the shopping ads advertising sales and planning out where you"ll shop and what time you"ll be there. Most of us with young … [Read more...]
Pregnancy and Infant Loss
The month of October is not only home to Halloween and Fire Safety Week but it is also Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. It's such a difficult thing to think about and unless it happens to you or someone you love then you can almost pretend it doesn't exist. That it doesn't happen. This attitude further isolates the women and men who experience their children for such a short time. For those who haven't experienced it personally then it can be very difficult to know what to do or how … [Read more...]
Getting to Know the Neighborhood Child Care Center
Right in the heart of downtown is an award-winning preschool and daycare center with a unique approach to educating children. Neighborhood Child Care Center, lovingly nicknamed NC3, is run by Mary and Todd Greenbaum, two of the most passionate, creative children"s educators I have ever met. (You can read my opinion on what qualifies as a great program here.) They opened Neighborhood Child Care Center thirty-eight years ago in Pontiac and have spent the last twenty-eight years operating out of … [Read more...]
Moving Madness Part 2
My family and I recently moved into our new home. I was determined not to repeat the same mistakes I did with our last move and overall, this experience was much better. I had a better plan, put a few good ideas into action, but I still made some mistakes. Here's what I did right and here's what I learned: Pack Early The first thing I did right was to pack early. I took down and packed away all of our decorative items like pictures, art and knick knacks. Anything that didn't have a … [Read more...]
Enjoy One of These Egg-cellent Easter-Themed Books
As I sit here compiling this book list for you guys, there are snow flurries coming down outside my window. I am so tired of cold weather and snow! I'm sure you're as ready for warmth and sunshine as I am. These books will fill your story time with spring colors and flowers and a lot of soft, furry animals. Chin up, friends, warmer weather and budding flowers are just around the corner! Happy Easter! 1. Grandpa Bunny- a Little Golden Book Classic I remember my grandma reading me this book … [Read more...]
Get Creative with Leftover Holiday Candy
I try really hard to limit the amount of junk my kids eat. Not only does this help them but it helps me, too. We aren"t perfect by any means but I do try to do a few things to keep us on the healthier side. First, I try not to even buy the junk food. If it"s in the house then we"ll eat it. Second, if I do buy sweets, like ice cream, then I"ll buy the smallest size container so there"s enough for everyone to have one serving then it"s gone. Third, I plan ahead. This meant that last week, leading … [Read more...]
A Lovely Valentine’s Day Booklist
Valentine's Day is about so much more than romantic love. It's about courage, strength and determination. Enjoy these books with your children and rediscover why celebrating Valentine's Day is important. 1. Valentine's Day by Trudi Strain Trueit This book does a really great job of giving the background on Valentine's Day and it's origin. It's definitely geared for preschoolers. 2. Valentine's Day by Alice K. Flanagan This book is more detailed than the first and is for older … [Read more...]