Everyday Simple

Among the many choices we have in this life, we get to choose what we eat.  We have options.  I’m sure animals in the wild have options, too.  They show preferences toward certain plants; some edibles are probably tastier than others.  They could eat the poisonous ones, but survival instincts tell them to steer clear.  [...]

There’s something about those moments when you find yourself teaching your kids life lessons.  Not the lectures about how they know what’s right and wrong when you know they aren’t listening to you.  I’m talking about the times when they are open, particularly when they’re really young, particularly when they want to learn.
Our three-year-old has [...]

A busy day all around, and driving home in the dark, I realize I’ve missed my kids.  Lots of good work done during the day, lots of love and laughter shared, but I miss those waiting for me at home.  Knowing that a taste of chaos awaits me, with all of one hour to have [...]

A friend of ours has neighbors who just opened a skating rink here in town, and would we like to join him for a skating and pizza party?  It’s one of those things that didn’t fit in our schedule, but I made it work.  Yes, we would love to.
While husband took the older kids to [...]

After a rare full day of snow, we couldn’t stay inside.  Unfortunately, no sticky snow with which to get too creative, but there’s lots of lovely powder to play in!

We had barely pulled into the bank drive-through when my daughter behind me started asking for a sucker in her croaky, congested voice.  I couldn’t help but smile because she sounded so cute — a survival of the species tactic.  Fortunately, my maternal sense kicked in.
“Suckers are full of sugar, and sugar is not good [...]

I was trying to sit and help my eldest study for the upcoming spelling bee. Everything has felt like an effort these past couple of days, and add to that the fact that it’s after eight and in the bedtime hour. My second oldest tells us he still has homework to do, and [...]

My husband put on his Facebook post, “HOW TO: Have four sick kids at once.  1) Have four kids.  2) Have one of the four kids be sick.  3) Mix well on a snow day.”  The next day, naturally, he had to post a “how to have a sick dad.”  The positive side is that [...]

Many thanks to my German friend for introducing my family to the advent calendar even before we fully embraced the tradition.  This year, however, I came up with something each day for the children to do before they get their daily treat.  Sundays are busy for us, so I decided to make use of the [...]