This is our dead week without school, camps, or travel plans and it was supposed to be a fun and highly productive week full of adventures with my boys and major things getting crossed off my to-do list. I had a vision: we were going to explore new playgrounds and go for bike rides, we…
When I was seven my parents got called into a parent-teacher conference because I was having trouble in the late mornings at school. During recess I would fight with the boys (literal kicking matches—I won a lot) and would also get frustrated during lessons when I didn’t feel like I understood. My parents couldn’t figure…
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the coming together of family (whether actual or adopted), the sharing of foods, and the practice of expressing gratitude. Since marrying into a Brazilian family I have also loved seeing the different cultural interpretations that families bring to the table—tropical fruits in place of cranberry sauce,…
We all know the benefits of family dinners— less picky eating, lower risk of obesity and eating disorders, higher academic achievement, lower risk of teen pregnancy and substance abuse, the list goes on and on. And we all have that idyllic idea of what it should look like—perfect table manners, no tension, everyone together, beautifully…
I am in the midst of three (3!) weeks with the kids home without summer camp, which means that I am doing that juggling act many of us experience at some point during the summer when we are trying to get work done and also provide fun and engaging activities for our kids (although I…
For years my favorite movie of all time was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I loved the idea that you could steal a day away like that. That you could have a day where there were no rules or obligations, just fun. Then, in the spring of my senior year of high school, I got “spring fever”…
Each August the boys and I come out to Colorado to spend a number of weeks with my parents (I know, I know I am insanely lucky). I love this time for many reasons, but one of the highlights is always the cooking. I have always loved cooking with my mom. She is the one…
2013 was an amazing year of change for my family and me. It was a whirlwind of activity from starting kindergarten to finishing my training to launching a new business and blog. It was wonderful, challenging, frenzied, and exciting. In the final days of the year, as I was trying to think about my hopes…