Family & Parenting
Family & Parenting
February 11, 2014
Easy peasy last-minute Valentine's Day project for the kids: Mason Jar Lantern. What? It's February already?! Did we not just open gifts and countdown to midnight?! Where is this year going? Time to act like you have your act together and surprise the kids with a Valentine's Day project that you probably have the supplies for already. Let them think it was planned.
- Mason jar(s)
- Tissue paper cut into one inch squares (in a bowl)
- 50/50 glue/water mixture
Family & Parenting
Travel
December 13, 2013
Whether it's Spring Break, Summer or the holidays, travel with baby can be hectic, with crowded airports and frazzled nerves. But a flying with a baby during the busy times like the holidays doesn’t have to be stressful, according to MiniTime.com, the family travel website that provides parents with travel recommendations based on the ages of their kids. Here are MiniTime’s top tips for stress-free holiday air travel with a baby:
Consider an alternate airport.
Not only can it be significantly cheaper to fly in and out of a regional airport within a short drive of a major hub, but smaller airports tend to offer a more pleasant experience anyway, with fewer crowds, shorter lines and cheaper parking.
Grab the first flight out.
You can greatly reduce your chances of getting delayed if you book a morning take-off.
Family & Parenting
Travel
December 10, 2013
Traveling with children can be a fairly daunting task, a friend once told me it could be compared to swimming in a pool of sand. You just don't get very far, very quickly. Just like so many other things in life change when you become a mom, so does the way you travel. Gone were the days of one carry on, you now have to pack spare outfits, bottles, toys and so much more. My son Atticus and I make a pretty nice travel duo. We have flown around the country together, and in under 2 years racked up 87,000 miles together. Not too shabby for a tot that up until recently did not know how to zip his sweater. I'd love to say we have traveled to foreign lands, but MommyCon keeps us pretty busy domestically, and we have kept our travel to seventeen contiguous US states. When we travel I try to keep things concise and efficient. I learned long ago that some comforts of home should just be left behind, and in hopes of
Family & Parenting
Travel
November 22, 2013
We're walking through a tunnel of coastal tea trees. The end of the tunnel is black, until sunlight pokes through, leaving the silhouette of a big wallaby, furiously jumping straight towards me. A second passes as both the wallaby and I realise what the two-headed creature we're facing is. When I do, I grab my camera out of my Ergo pocket, but it's already too late: the wallaby and her joey have jumped off our hiking path, into the bush.
We are spending a month in Australia, where my husband is working. The children and I are enjoying all of Melbourne's wildlife, zoos and child-friendly museums, the superb coffee, cakes and ethnic vegetarian food, and meeting up with friends from various places and phases in our lives. I feel right
Family & Parenting
November 19, 2013
It was a warm and sunny day in October when my husband and I met our daughter for the first time.
I was certain I would burst with excitement as we drove the hour commute from our home to the home of her foster parents’. I was giddy as I spoke with Brian about what it would be like to see her sweet face and cuddle with her for the first time. Brian was also looking forward to meeting her but he was very nervous. He is the thinker in our family and I am the feeler. We had only found out about Naomi a few days prior. Her caseworker had called to inform us we had been chosen to be her legal risk placement. The only other information we received was that she was a 5 month old African American girl. I immediately told him that yes we would be thrilled to be her family and we wanted to meet her right away.
I then had a few phone conversations with her foster parents. They were the most delightful, warm and loving people. They were in their seventies and had taken care of over
Family & Parenting
November 18, 2013
I met my sweetheart, Nate, in 2001. I fell head over heels in love with him. We dated for a while before he finally got down on one knee and begged asked me to marry him in 2003. I obliged and four short months later we were doing the below. Making a run for it!
We spent the next few years figuring out how to live with each other and thinking the first few years of marriage was the hard part.
We bought a cute little house, worked hard at our jobs, and I felt like it was time to start a family. It took a little longer to convince him of this fact. But he's a guy, and let's face it, the trying is fun.
I tried to relax for the first few months, but when those months turned into a year, I kinda started to panic. PANIC. PANIC.
I won't
Family & Parenting
November 12, 2013
My family story starts with a single mother of a sweet boy. When my son Zane was 14 months old I found myself suddenly parenting solo. During that 3 year journey I never gave up hope that I would have a loving husband that would desire to grow a family with me. I knew in my heart that I was created to be a mama of many so I trusted that more little ones would be coming my way. On April 1, 2007 I married an amazing man named Brian. In addition to my beloved I also scored 2 wonderful bonus boys, my step-sons Mason and Carson.
The Lowmillers were now a blended family of 5. Before Brian and I were married we spoke of the desire to grow our family. He thought one or two more children would be ideal, I thought
Family & Parenting
October 17, 2013
I haven't decided if I'm going to bring my six-month-old along with us while we trick-or-treat this year, but if I do she'll most decidedly be going in the Ergobaby carrier. I've been looking for costume inspiration for her, and I've rounded up ten of the cutest babywearing costumes on the web:
Harry Potter Baby
Family & Parenting
Travel
July 18, 2013
For years, I have dreamed of visiting Chicago and spending the day in The Shedd Aquarium. I never really thought it would come to fruition but I continued to dream. This summer my dream came true when our family drove through Chicago on our way to a preacher's conference in the Detroit area. It was just as amazing as I thought it would be and even though we spent 6 hours there, I could go back again.
The Shedd Aquarium is located on the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan. It is the largest indoor aquarium in the world, with more than 8000 aquatic animals. Depending on when you go, there are always special exhibits. Our family had the opportunity to see the Jellies and to participate in the new Stingray Touch.
When you decide to visit the Aquarium, the first thing I recommend doing is deciding what times you would like to be there and which exhibits you want to see. Our family decided to
Family & Parenting
Travel
July 18, 2013
We're thinking of taking a day trip to the beach. I wanted to go longer, but my husband thinks it will be a big hassle with the baby. I've been trying to think of everything we'll need to make the trip go smoothly:
1. I'm thinking some sort of sun shade is in order. Although there are some really amazing sunscreens out there, I've read that you shouldn't use sunscreen on babies younger than six months. So an umbrella or