Author Archive: Ashley B
Ashley is a Writer, Stay at Home mother of 4, not to busy to take time to slow down and smell the flowers. I also teach a Mommy and Me Dance Class to share my love of dance.
Making Thanksgiving Traditions
When I was little, we would always gather at my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. My aunt would roast the turkey at her house, and she’d make two different kinds of stuffing: one with sausage, and one without. My mother was in charge of making mashed turnips (which I disliked as a child and still don’t […]
November is National Adoption Awareness Month
November is National Adoption Month. The purpose of National Adoption Month is to raise awareness about the adoption of children from foster care. There are over 100,000 children in the U.S. waiting for permanent adoptive families. The theme for this year’s adoption month is improving the ability of adoption professionals to recruit adoptive parents for […]
Fall Birthday Party Ideas
The time of year for pool parties may have passed, but never fear; if your child has a fall birthday, this can be a wonderful time to plan a party. School is in session, so your child has easy access to all the friends he wants to invite. And the season easily lends itself to […]
Fall Foliage Photography
This time of year, I love looking at photos of fall foliage. It brings me back to when I was a child and young adult, enjoying football games, hot apple cider, raking the leaves into a pile to jump in, pumpkin carving, apple picking, and all of the other delights of fall. Since moving to […]
Food Allergies and Summertime Activities
As the mother of a child with a food allergy, I need to think through special accommodations at times. Her school has an Epi-pen for her, but places like dance class, birthday parties, Sunday school and friends’ houses don’t, so I need to send it along, with instructions on how to use it should there […]
Start a Summer Book Club with your Kids
If you’re looking for a way to encourage your kids to read over the summer, one idea to consider is starting a summer book club. Getting the kids together with their friends to read or discuss what they’re reading turns reading from a solitary activity into a social activity and gives everyone a regularly occurring […]
Family Fun on the Fourth
Independence Day is the biggest holiday of the summer, and it’s one that kids love to celebrate. Fireworks, picnics, and barbecues are staple activities, but there are some more unique family activities out there that can make your Fourth of July fun. How about a Fourth of July makeover or a neighborhood parade? Maybe your […]
Summer Learning
As summer vacation approaches, one thing that concerns me is summer learning loss: studies show kids lose over two and a half months of math skills and around one month of skills in other subjects over the long vacation period. As much as I want my kids to have their well-deserved break, I know their […]
Summertime Enrichment that is Budget Friendly
Now that school is over for the year, your kids have a lot of time on their hands. Without the day-to-day interaction with peers that they have during the school year, they will likely be complaining of boredom after the novelty of sleeping in and lounging around the house wears off. With friends going on […]
National Park Week: April 20-28, 2019
As the snow melts and the weather warms up, you and your kids are probably itching to get outside. While the backyard and the neighborhood parks are fun, they lose their novelty soon enough. National Park Week, which takes place during the last week of April, is the answer to your kids’ pleas of “I’m […]
