I'm annoyed with Valentines day. It just is too dramatic for my liking. The worst part is that it's dramatic in multiple ways. Whether a person expects a thoughtful gift and high level romance or the HATE VALENTINES DAY, IT'S A HALLMARK HOLIDAY.. blah blah person.. Or that you are single 364 days out the year. Yet if on Valentines day you don't have a date, it's some how the worst thing ever?

If you are only affectionate or thoughtful to your spouse  3 days a year. (Valentine's…

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Originally posted at Just Playing House.

As I look around my kids rooms, I am constantly reminded that we need to do a major clean out! I mean MAJOR! This is especially true for my daughter Melia (age 4). We are lucky to have a clear path to walk to her bed. Night wakings have become hazardous to our health!

For my own safety and sanity, I love experience gifts for kids! Let’s be honest, our kids don’t…

I know that it is just now November, but sometimes the best Christmas gift requires some advanced planning. My idea was one of those, but it was completely worth it. It's an original Tried It Tuesday idea born out of need. Here's why.…

** 'Tis the season to feel like a walking ATM.

** If you're a fan of torturing yourself, I highly recommend going to the mall two weekends before Christmas.…

Have you ever come across a post on social media that changed the way you see your world? I did, just this week. I came across a post on my newsfeed that showed dirty, rough hands. It had a story attached, that always piques my interest, so I read it and it hit me hard. My husband and I do so much for our kids so they never go without,…

To me, today is my "official" start to the holidays! I am so excited!



Thanksgiving on Thursday.



Shopping on Friday. Oh and getting my house all decked out for Christmas...



Christmas is in a month!



I have been waiting for…

** Santa needs to be A LOT more organized next year.

** I may never see my son again now that Wii U is hooked up in the basement.

** Goatdog REALLY likes to open presents.  Especially ones that don't belong to him.

** When it snows, everyone seems to have forgotten how to drive.

** Teepeeing the inside of your house…

Ah, it's the holiday season -- that magical time of the year when you wanna sip hot cocoa by the fire and shove people outta the way for a deal on a flat-screened t.v.  Cause let's be real, y'all.  December tends to turn the very best of us into giant assholes.

Every year I tell myself I'm not gonna get swept up into all the hoopla of running here, there and…

** 'Tis the season to be an asshole.  Apparently.

** I am not the Energizer Bunny.

** The Elf on the Shelf might very well be my nemesis.

** Anything that's lost is very likely at the bottom of my son's backpack.

** I should really write a country song cause I've got the homework blues.

** Leaving your…

As a kid, it's hard to see the big, wide world outside your own tiny bubble of existence.  (Heck, it's not easy even as an adult sometimes!)  That's why I've made it my mission to try to teach my kids to help out people in need.  And one of my favorite holiday traditions for our family is to help fulfill the Christmas wish list of a child in need.

For the past…

Remember that story a few weeks ago when we lost the mother fucking Elf on the Shelf, and I was all panicked that it might be the last Christmas for believing in Santa in my household?  Well, it saddens me beyond words, but I'm pretty sure the jig is up (at…

Again…why do we buy toys?

I know I have said this before but I still am trying to figure our why my hubby and I buy toys for or kids.

Seriously!…

Need Gift Ideas for Mom on Mothers Day 2011?  This is the day to step back and fully appreciate your Mother and all she has done for you.  Appreciate her with a gift that will make her feel loved. A good way to do this is to consider what is her Love Language.  Author Gary Chapman has detailed the 5 Love Languages in several books and on his website.  

Rather than getting the usual flowers and…

Yes, these were actually words shouted in my home at 4:30 Christmas morning, by my 8 year old. The story is just too funny not to share.



This year, Santa got the kids a Nintendo Wii and 2 games each. When he came down the chimney Christmas Eve, he just filled the stockings right there at the fireplace, left the wrapped games in front of the kids'…

Christmas is for the memories.  Christmas is for the anticipation.  Christmas, at least when you're the parent of two year olds, is not for the day, itself.



On Christmas Eve, I excitedly brought down my horribly wrapped presents and placed them carefully under the tree in the most eye-pleasing manner I could manage.  I stepped back to view my work, envisioning the happy day that was surely awaiting us.…

Christmas has been so hectic.  Dragging babies across the country, presents, presents, different foods, different people, presents, a massive snow storm, and, well, presents.

It's amazing how quickly the girls took to the idea of Santa.  We hadn't prepared them for it throughout the season.  We mentioned Christmas.  We told them about presents.  But we…