My daughter, Amaris, will turn 1 year old in less than a month. What a bittersweet milestone! Though it may be trendy to celebrate a child’s birthday with an elaborate party that includes a bounce house, mobile petting zoo, food trucks, and party favors, we’re choosing a much simpler approach. We’ll go on an outing as a family and enjoy … [Read more...] about Choosing to Have Simple Kids’ Birthday Celebrations
Finding Peace with the Reality That You Can’t Do It All
A couple of weeks ago my husband started a new job. Instead of seeing him off on his first day with a kiss and an encouraging word, I was asleep in bed. I felt awful when I woke up and realized I had slept through his departure! My 9-month-old daughter was going through a rough phase where she was waking about every two hours. Having … [Read more...] about Finding Peace with the Reality That You Can’t Do It All
Dare to Prepare: 8 of the Best Foods to Keep in Your Disaster Preparedness Kit
As part of National Preparedness Month (observed every September), I like to take a straightforward look at various disaster preparedness topics (see the series page for a complete list of the topics we’ve explored previously). This year, as I update my family’s preparedness plan and replenish the supplies in our disaster kit, I’m … [Read more...] about Dare to Prepare: 8 of the Best Foods to Keep in Your Disaster Preparedness Kit
Making Temporary Housing Feel Like Home
After a somewhat arduous move across the country, my family is finally settling into a temporary residence. We’re blessed that we’ve been able to begin searching for a new house right away because our previous one sold quickly. However, until we complete our search, we’re residing in a small apartment. Many of our possessions are in … [Read more...] about Making Temporary Housing Feel Like Home
Getting Up the First Time Your Alarm Goes Off
I remember being annoyed during my freshman year of college when my roommate would hit the snooze button on her alarm multiple times before she’d get out of bed. My sleep would be interrupted each time her alarm sounded! Years later I got married and my husband did something similar. He would have several alarms go off over the course of 20 or … [Read more...] about Getting Up the First Time Your Alarm Goes Off
Getting Exercise as a Busy Homemaker
I’ve noticed that exercise occupies a precarious position in the minds of many women I know. Some shun it because they view it as vain, believing it is only a means of losing weight to become more attractive. Others worship it, spending hours each week pushing themselves to extremes to prove they are stronger than their aching muscles. Still … [Read more...] about Getting Exercise as a Busy Homemaker
10 Fun, Frugal Ways to Celebrate Your Anniversary
My husband and I are on a tight budget, but we still want to do something fun to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Thankfully, I’ve thought of a number of fun ways to celebrate without spending a lot of money. Fun and frugal anniversary celebrations Relive your first date. What did you wear on your first date? Where did you go? … [Read more...] about 10 Fun, Frugal Ways to Celebrate Your Anniversary
Getting to Know a New City to Which You’ve Moved
As many of you know, my family just moved from the DC metro area to the outskirts of Houston, TX. We’re slowly settling into life in our new city. We’re somewhat familiar with this area because I lived in Houston while in nursing school, but that was many years ago and I was in a very different part of the city. There’s quite a bit we … [Read more...] about Getting to Know a New City to Which You’ve Moved
