The "Yes" Jar
About a year ago I read an article about creating tradition in your family. The article gave a few ideas for traditions that you could celebrate with your children. One of the traditions that I instantly...
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The May Basket
One of my memories from childhood was May Day. A few days before my Mom and I would make baskets from paper then fill them with a few artificial flower blooms and candy. I was so excited, I would wake up...
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Postcards from Dad
When my husband goes away for a business trip he always take the time to send postcards back to our two children. While they don’t like to see their Dad leave, they always look forward to his postcards. Not...
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Tracking Dad's Travels
When I was a young boy my father spent much of his career traveling internationally. He would fly to South America one week and Hong Kong the next. To help us understand more about his travels we bought a...
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Letters from Mom
My daughter loves getting the mail and delivering it to me when she comes home from school. One day she asked me why she never receives any mail. So I got an idea to send her a letter or card once or twice...
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The Mommy Tapes
I travel overnight quite often for my job and it can be difficult for my son when I’m gone. My husband told me that it was particularly hard at night when he was getting him ready for bed. So I decided to make it a little easier by recording several bedti
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Candlelight and Color Baths
Every so often our two-year old and four-year old tire of taking their bath. To perk their interest and liven the nightly routine, every so often they bathe by candlelight. We drop colored bath tablets in the...
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A Party Queen's Guide to After-School Snacks
When I was in the fourth grade, my mother went back to work and my grandmother, Nannie, took on the after-school duties. Growing up, I was lucky to have two amazing grandmothers living close by. One taught...
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Learn Your World
Like many kids, my children spend a lot of hours in front of the television. I make an effort to monitor both the amount of time they spend watching as well as the shows they are allowed to watch. A few...
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Timeout for Positive Things
When my kids get out of hand fighting with one another I call a "timeout". Unlike traditional timeouts, that means I get out a pad of paper and pencil for each kid and they are expected to write ten...
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Thanks from the Old World
My husband's family is from Germany. He came over to the United States for college and has lived here ever since. We wanted to encourage our kids to communicate with their family members in...
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A Piece of Her Favorite Things
My 7-year old daughter has a hard time giving up her favorite clothes when they no longer fit her. To help her more easily part with these items, I cut off squares of material from the old garments and sew them...
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Mommy Time
As a working mom with two small children, I came up with the idea of "Mommy Time". After I pick up the children from daycare, I put together a small snack plate (usually carrots and celery or cheese and crackers)...
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The Reading Jar
Encouraging your children can read can sometimes be challenging. You have to fight with video games, television and a generally full schedule. To make reading more fun I started a "reading jar" for each...
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My Own Precious Ringtone
My friend Kari recorded her dog barking for her cell phone ringtone. I thought it was a pretty cool idea to have your own custom ring. If I was in a public place I never used to be able to tell if it...
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