Over the years, I’ve shared several party themes here at This Mom Loves (with LOTS of help from my themed-party-planning friend, Krista!) For some reason it seems like the birthday party season ramps up in spring, so I thought it would be the perfect time to share a roundup of different party ideas. My First […] Read more…
My latest Hallmark “Press Pause Panel” box has arrived, with all sorts of selections for spring celebrations like Easter and Mother’s Day. Some of my favourites: “Cheery Chick” with light (special $14.95, MSRP $29.95) This one is going to be a hot-ticket item in my classroom raffle this month! There’s a miniature scene inside this […] Read more…
It may have been a shorter month because of the March Break, but we still had lots happening. A few highlights: Language (Grammar) Teaching parts of speech has never been easier. I’ve been using “Shrek Forever After” Mad Libs, and the kids love it. We sit at the carpet, and I ask for whatever parts […] Read more…
For the month of April, author Gretchen Rubin’s “Happiness Project” goals had a theme of “Lighten Up: Parenthood”. When it comes to life in general, in some ways “lighten up” SO applies to me, but in other ways it really doesn’t. I’m a serious person, but that doesn’t mean I’m not joyful. I think of […] Read more…
Just the other day I was thinking about how Frannie is lacking in fancy clothing, and has worn the same dress for the last two Christmas and Irish concerts, as well as public speaking competitions. So the timing was perfect when I was contacted about a Walmart Spring Shopping Challenge – put together a new […] Read more…
After the overwhelming response to my “Efficient Organization: The Filing Cabinet” post (thanks so much to that person who commented!) today I am sharing with you how I keep my half of the walk-in closet organized and running efficiently. (Hubby is organized too, but I’ll leave it to him to share his strategies someday if […] Read more…
Before you delve into the fun that was our March Break, please be clear that this is no freebie or sponsored post. We paid for every penny of this vacation, though even if we hadn’t, I hope that by now you trust me to give honest reviews. And when I say “by now”, I’m referring […] Read more…
For the April issue of Today’s Parent magazine, readers were asked to submit ideas for topics they’d like to see covered, and for the “Big Kid” page, one parent wondered about the best ways to adapt discipline strategies as their little kids get bigger, and the “time-outs” aren’t so effective anymore. I was happy to […] Read more…
The (somewhat scary but perhaps amusing) preparations for a southern family vacay (in no particular order): Untangle 4 sets of earbuds for plane. (Find out en route to airport that there will not be seatback entertainment on plane that you and children were expecting. React to e-mail in such a way that husband thinks we […] Read more…
This was a fun article to write, as parents have varying opinions on the matter, and even the medical experts don’t yet have definitive data one way or the other. There are studies involving rats ingesting huge amounts of the chemicals found in hair dye (which don’t look good), but those don’t exactly correlate perfectly […] Read more…