DIY Road Trip Activity Sticks

Our family has some mega long road trips under our belt and time and time again the kids’ favorite thing about our time in the car are the road trip activity sticks I made in ten minutes last spring. They’re so simple to make … yet, the peace and perks they bring about while on […]

Our Homeschool Room

Since starting our homeschool adventure five years ago we have lived in three different homes. We have set up shop in a play room/office/school space combination room, the dining table, a bonus room that served has half bedroom and half school room and now, a designated school room. My point is, you don’t need a […]

The Chore Chart That Is Actually Working For Us!

A special thank you to The Buttercup House for gifting our family a set of chore magnets. We have gone through many a season of chore charts. Honestly, I feel like I’ve tried them all. The only thing I haven’t tried is a traditional allowance for completing chores. I’m very much in the camp of […]

So You Wanna Shibori?

This is gonna be short and sweet. If you follow my Instagram stories (which I’m totally touch and go with), you may have caught wind of my shibori attempt. I say, “attempt” because the final product turned out medium in my book of DIY successes; not quite how I imagined, but also, not a total failure.   […]

Jemma’s Nanea Inspired Paper Hawaiian Lei DIY

Aloha, Nanea! We’ve been anticipating your arrival, and girl, you were worth the wait! From the historical Pearl Harbor scene to the comfort of Jemma’s room, welcome! Yes, it’s true – American Girl has launched a new BeForever doll, Nanea Mitchell, a Hawaiian-American 9-year-old who lives in Hawaii during a pivotal time in American history, 1941. […]

DIY Wall Yarn Thingamajig

A few weeks ago I saw this pop up on The Paper Mama’s Instagram feed and I so badly wanted attend the Portland craft night. But, alas, Portland is a solid 2 hour drive for me … not home anymore. And so, I was forced to kick off a solo craft night in hopes of […]

Givings Day

Givings Day – that’s what Jemma calls Thanksgiving. It’s the sweetest and so, I don’t dare correct her. AND, what cute little turkeys ^^^ – Jem asks to make handprint art ALL THE TIME. And well, giant-eyed turkeys were obviously a fitting choice. Anyways, this blog is officially closed for Thanksgiving :) So, go to […]

“Drink Tea” With the Silhouette CAMEO

I have 4,000 crafts in my mind – all waiting for a free, quiet evening. I doubt I have 4,000 evenings on my horizon, but I did recently have one. So, on that illustrious evening I settled in at the dining room table with my new computer, my new Silhouette CAMEO and a dash or […]

Snail Mail Revival

Welcome to the August 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Friends This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared stories and wisdom about friends. *** “The mail! Don’t forget the mail!” It’s a common phrase around here. […]

Max’s Sharktastic Birthday Party

Guess who is TWO today? The ever adorable and sweetest little chunk, Max Valentine! That’s who! We celebrated Thursday evening with a few little friends at his shark birthday party at a local park. It was practically perfect … It started out blustery – complete with flying away balloons – but calmed down in time […]

How To Plan a Simple Birthday Party

So, your little one is having a birthday! Are you excited? Stressed? Reminiscent? I’m usually all of the above – excited for a celebration in honor of one of my most favorite people, stressed about the planning and execution of a party, and reminiscent about their actual birth day. Yeah, that last one always gets […]