Category: Family

by Allison

with love, from grandpa.

There are a handful of people in my life who’ve shaped the woman I am today: spiritually, intellectually, emotionally. My mother’s parents are on the short list. Both my grandfather and my grandmother contributed, each in a very different way. But today I’m thinking about grandpa. He’s on my mind. My grandfather was an intellectual, the smartest man I’ve ever known. He and his buddy Harvey Fletcher started the engineering program at Brigham Young University, he designed unbelievable bridges all…
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by Allison

make a homemade memory game.

memory game

Before we headed off to BlogHer, Alma wanted to come up with a different take on the business card. And because she’s so clever she created a memory game with a handful of her patterns to hand out to people. Seriously. My brain doesn’t work that way but it worships people who do. I snagged a memory game for myself {because I’m selfish like that} even though I have no trouble at all remembering Alma and her awesomeness, but hadn’t…
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by Allison

make a homemade craft birthday box for kids.

craft birthday box

I love the creative birthday presents my kids get once in a while from their friends. Last year P got all the ingredients necessary to make cookies including: Ziploc baggie with sugar cookie mix, an apron, chef hat, wooden spoons, frosting, and cookie cutters. It was her favorite present. We started thinking of fun things that were *outside the box* just a bit, to give as gifts for all the parties throughout the school year. The craft box is my…
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by Allison

final posts on design mom.

I finished off my last couple posts for Design Mom on Friday. I didn’t know there were people in the world who don’t play with makeup for hours every day and pore over fashion magazines to see how eyeliner is being worn this season. Apparently though, there are women out there inventing things instead of primping their eyelashes. It’s been a lot of fun to hear the feedback. Go see my post on how to create a smoky eye here,…
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by Allison

beautiful invitations for a picnic.

If you ever get an invitation to party with your girlfriends that looks like this: I highly recommend dropping everything on your calendar to attend. Because you know if the invite is that astonishing, the BBQ is sure to follow suit. And how. Just a little something Melissa *threw together*. Me too. And if your husband decides to put both kids on his shoulders to compete with the fact that the hostess’s toddler is a wicked dancer not unlike her…
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by Allison

maclaren for baby + mama.

You know how sometimes you buy yummy *lavender* bubble bath and lotion for your baby, thinking you’re really going to get something that smells like lavender? And then you open it up and use it on your wee little babe only to realize it smells like, uh, any other lotion at the store? If it doesn’t happen to you, just pretend it does so this story will work. I’ve actually had that happen on more than one occasion and it’s…
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by Allison

things that make me happy in life.

There’s no school tomorrow, hip hip hooray! Not that school ever stands in our way of pulling kids out for traveling adventures {my apologies mrs.wright} but it helps if there really is no school so I don’t feel guilty about it. Tomorrow afternoon we’re having a BBQ with friends, my fridge is clean {it doesn’t happen that often, so it’s reason enough to celebrate} and my pantry is filled to the brim with Diet Dr. Pepper. I’m getting ready to…
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by Allison

fun gifting idea for kids.

You know how once your kids reach a certain age, invitations to birthday parties start flowing in and you have to start coming up with creative, age appropriate gifts on a ridiculously regular basis? Me too. This is where a couple of really clever, ahead of the game moms come into the picture: Lisa Fielding and Stefanie Katz-Rothman created Gift Hero to take the guessing out of gift giving. It’s pretty simple: you go to their site and pick the…
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by Rachele Foushee-Beck

homemade lunch.

It’s time for back to school, and what to pack for lunch you might ask?  Well here are some fun ideas to keep your kids healthy and well fed while at school. First, as you prepare their lunches, think “rainbow.”  You want their lunch to be as colorful as a rainbow. Lots of fruits, veggies and good proteins. Protein is so important, because it is a brain food. and when they are tired and lunch comes around they need to…
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