Getting Ready to Shop Yard Sales

I am anxious to visit my first garage sales of the Spring, look through other people’s stuff and get some shopping done. I usually look for children’s clothing and small househol d items, but sometimes our hunt includes other things, such as a snowblower or particular toy wants from the kids. Since I have all of this downtime before anyone around here has the confidence of hosting a yard sale without cold or snow, I’m going to be using that time to get my yard sale list together. The list will have any wants or needs on it, including the clothing … Continue reading

Living with Engineers: It’s All in the Timing

Another engineer’s wife and I were having a discussion about household chores yesterday.  We were bemoaning the fact that if we want our husbands to do something for us, we either need to tell them right away, or it won’t happen at all. The engineer’s mind is a constant one-way track of processing information.  It’s what makes them so brilliant and efficient: they zero in on a task, giving it their complete focus until it’s done.  I’m almost always thinking about other things while I’m working on something, which is why it can take me longer to achieve something with … Continue reading

When Your Baby Has Food Allergies

Recently, I decided to get my baby tested for food allergies. With the history that my two boys have had, I just wanted to make sure that there were no lingering issues as we moved forward with food trialing. I had been suspicious that eggs were causing a problem with my little one when I was breastfeeding. It was one of the foods I had cut out of my diet when he was having all of his tummy issues. But, none of my children have ever been diagnosed with your typical IgE food allergies. IgE stands for Immunoglobulin E which is … Continue reading

A New Calling

Today, I am getting a new calling in our ward. I started to wonder if I would be left out of all the initial callings in our ward because it has been several weeks since our new ward got organized. However, when I missed church this past Sunday due to one of my kids being sick, my husband came home and told me that a new Relief Society President had been called. And, that she was talking to him about me. My first thought was, “Uh oh. I am getting called into the Relief Society.” But, in reality, I love … Continue reading

Swallow the Turkey and Head to the Mall

This year, Black Friday ads indicate that it won’t be so much about getting up early to head to the stores for the Black Friday deals as rushing out the door as you are still chewing the last bit of turkey. Consider this year “dine and dash,” as many are calling it. Black Friday deals are starting as early as 8 pm on Thanksgiving. I’m not a big Black Friday shopper. I prefer to get most, if not all, of my shopping done before Thanksgiving. This way I can enjoy more time spent with the family, baking cookies, playing games, … Continue reading

Can You Have A Happy Halloween Without Candy? Yes!

This evening, I took the boys out for more extensive Halloween activity than we have ever done before. This was Dylan’s third Halloween. For his first Halloween, he was a little bear and we only went to the children’s costume parade downtown. Last year, we did nothing. I forget why, but we did not dress up or go anywhere. This year, we all dressed as firefighters (even the baby) and went out two times. For both outings, my goal was the same – to have fun with Dylan and Blake without the boys eating any candy. As we drove towards … Continue reading

Getting Road Trip Ready

I just realized today that in just a couple of weeks, my husband, the boys, my parents, and I are going to embark on the biggest adventure that we as a family have ever had. In the past, I have pretty much been a seat of the pants type of girl when it comes to travel. I am not sure if that is such a wise approach to take on a road trip from Vermont to Florida that involves four adults and two kids, so I am beginning to do a little bit of planning. There once was a time … Continue reading

“Getting Started” – Day One of RootsTech 2013

RootsTech 2013 is offering a something new. It will have a group of workshops that are part of the “Getting Started” track. It will give new genealogists the information they need to get started. Here are a few of the workshops and presentations for the Day One of “Getting Started” at RootsTech 2013. Want to check out the “Getting Started” series at RootsTech 2013? If so, then you have two choices. You can buy a 3-Day Pass, or you can purchase a 1-Day Pass. It might be helpful if you had some idea of the content that will be presented … Continue reading

Perfectionism Is Keeping Me From Getting Things Done

As a perfectionist I often overwhelm myself. My good intentions always lead to half finished chores and messes I walk away from because I overwhelm myself. I have such high expectations, after all if a job is worth doing it’s worth doing right. That statement right there is my downfall. A typical project will go something like this: Today is a perfect day to clean the garage! I’ll go out in to the garage and start going through boxes and bags and shelves, bagging up stuff that can be donated, tossing things that are broken or missing pieces and then … Continue reading

Naptime Has Officially Left The Building

It seems like it has been ages since Dylan took a nap in his bed. In reality, the last time that he regularly took naps in his bed was at about four months ago. Even then, he did not nap every day. Once he started refusing to nap in bed, I knew that it was the beginning of the end for nap time. That was a hard thing for me to come to terms with because his nap time was always a much needed break in my day where I could get a few things done, spend some one on … Continue reading