My journey of becoming a stay-at-home mom was tougher than I expected. After a short maternity break, I went back to work for several months while my husband finished his undergraduate degree. Then we moved to a new city where he began dental school and I began being at home with our son. The...
One year ago today, I was experiencing the beginning of my first hurricane. And it was a big one. Hurricane Irma was the strongest storm on record to exist in the open Atlantic region. It was projected to be a Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the storm scale when it made landfall in...
In August 2016, I moved with my husband and three children from eastern Washington to Vienna, Austria for my husband’s job. We’ve lived in four states during our marriage, but this was our first international job posting, and we had moved from the East coast to the West coast less than a year before....
Last spring after an incredibly difficult 2016, we had reached a point with our family where we felt we were overcommitted, undervaluing our relationships, and barely getting by as a family. It seemed everything was taking precedence over what my husband and I felt to be important to our family life, and even though...
Having just returned from 2 years living abroad, I wanted to put together a series of posts about living abroad and the lessons learned from that experience. This interview is with my friend Jessica about her experiences living in Germany. She’s had a lifelong dream of traveling Europe and now because of her husband’s...
For two years my family and I have been living in a developing country – which is the politically correct term for a third world country. Before we moved here, I had no idea Antigua was a developing country. I mean, I knew not to expect all the comforts of home, but I didn’t realize the...
You know those times when you have hundreds of things swirling around in your head and so many things on your to-do list that you can’t even focus because you are so overwhelmed? You find yourself snapping at the people you love the most or mentally checking out and ignoring it all. At times...
Say Something Nice “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” It’s a mantra taught to each generation because words have power: to build and destroy. The right words can make all the difference. Kind words spread positivity and help us develop more connected relationships with family members, friends, neighbors, and...
Music and Happiness Music is magical. It can quickly change the atmosphere. The right music can boost your happiness levels. It can help make mundane tasks less monotonous and bring life to a party. It can get you up, moving, singing and enjoying life more. Science shows that “when we 1) anticipate and then...
Want to have more fun as a family? Or form deeper connections with your kids? If so, make a “Live List” with your family. A Live List is a small thing that helps create a purposeful, intentional family life that’s full of fun. It’s a great way to strengthen family bonds and have more...
In this series, we’re looking at how to use a bullet journal to change your life. In part one we learned about what a bullet journal is, how to set one up, and that it’s ok to do it badly. In part two, we looked at how to use a bullet journal to build...
Today’s Small Things Story comes from Trisa Perry. She is an amazing mom and a woman of many talents. Today she shares her strategies of how she finds time for herself and her own projects when there’s never enough time in busy family life. And there are some amazing before and after pictures of...
The Gift of Clean Water – Ignorance Isn’t Bliss When we moved our family from the US to a little Caribbean island for 2 years, I really had no idea what to expect. I pictured the turquoise blue waters, pristine sandy beaches and palm trees that I’d seen in pictures. I figured it would...
Did you ever see that 90’s movie Groundhog Day (affiliate link) with that one guy whose name I can’t remember at this mom brain moment? Oh yeah…Bill Murray. (Thanks Google!) It’s a romantic comedy about a self-centered and arrogant big-city TV weatherman who gets trapped in the same day in a little podunk town and...
In this series – Using A Bullet Journal to Change Your Life, we first looked at what a bullet journal is, how to start one, and the benefits of starting with an inexpensive notebook. Today we’re looking at how a bullet journal can change your life by helping you form better habits and routines....
