Mariel

What Do You Love? ~ A New Valentine’s Day Tradition

by Mariel January 26, 2012

I have such mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. I love boxes of candy. I love roses. I love the pink and red combo. I love cards. I love cute, homemade stuff. I love my kids. I love my husband. I should love Valentine’s Day, right? Well, I do. Really, I do. But, I don’t really [...]

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Fun Group Games for New Year’s Eve

by Mariel December 29, 2011

When it comes to New Year’s Eve, I’m generally so worn out from Christmas, that all I want to do is curl up in bed with the husband, watch a few episodes of Parks and Recreation on Netflix, and fall into a deep slumber…by 9:00. Oh, and somehow the 5 kids are all in bed [...]

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My Favorite Christmas Traditions

by Mariel December 1, 2011

It used to be that every Christmas, we spent more time away from home, than at home. The minute we were done opening presents, we rushed off to visit family. Soon enough, we were off to visit even more family. Finally, at the end of the day, we would come home, crash, moan about how [...]

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DIY Family Spooky Stories Book

by Mariel October 27, 2011

We’ve been on a writing-kick lately, for homeschool. Remember my A Fun Way to Encourage Handwriting post?? I’ve also raved about how great journals are for kids. Yep, I’m still on one. And, with Halloween coming up, my thoughts turned grim…well, gruesome. My kids LOVE scary stories. I think they’ve inherited my twisted mind. So, [...]

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A Fun Way to Encourage Handwriting Practice

by Mariel September 22, 2011

One of the many subjects my kids do for homeschool is Handwriting, a class that my husband clearly slept through in his elementary years. I have to tease him about it all the time. But, then when we’re put in situations where we’re signing documents/checks/whatever, and it takes him 1 second to scribble his “name” [...]

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Milestone Birthday Countdown

by Mariel August 25, 2011

It’s birthday season around my house. In between the poopie diapers, bills, and laundry, I’ve got birthdays on what’s left of my mind: What to do for the party? Should I make a fancy or lazy cake? What gifts should I buy? Can I handle this?? Needless to say, I’m checking them off, one by [...]

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“Happy Birthday, Dear Family…” – Wedding Anniversary Fun

by Mariel July 28, 2011

Some of my wedding anniversaries have been fancy and romantic, some have been pretty low key. We’ve taken fun trips, but we’ve also just gone out to eat and exchanged little gifts. But, no matter how we’ve celebrated our marriage, I’ve always felt that it would be fun to involve the kids, on at least [...]

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A New Father’s Day Tradition (and Competition!)

by Mariel May 26, 2011

One of my most favorite things about being a mother is coming up with new traditions for my family. Traditions are a great way to create memories and give the family something to look forward to. However, if I have one piece of unsolicited advice on this subject, it’s to be flexible. If the fun [...]

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Family Dinner and Movie Theme Night

by Mariel May 12, 2011

My kids are always itching to do something fun. I don’t blame them, so am I. Bike rides, theme parks, bowling, laser tag, you name it. Fun is great. But, sometimes Mom and Dad are lacking in the energy department. One of the easiest, most non-energy-needing ways to perk up my gloomy kids is to [...]

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The ‘Teaching Children Table Manners’ Game

by Mariel April 28, 2011

Table manners?? What are those? The man-of-the-house is all for America adopting the burping is a “compliment to the chef” cultural tradition. The kids would like to add wrestling, fork stabbing, and feet-in-the-face to that. Now, there’s something to be said for having fun and goofing around as a family, I’m all about a good [...]

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