COVID-19

Before the pandemic started, I had a bad habit of keeping the kitchen closed down too much once the weekend hit. By Thursday afternoon, I was already thinking about what restaurant I wanted to go to or where I...

Today is another day of my new reality: working from home . . . with my daughter at home . . . not going anywhere. My sewing table is now a temporary work station and my dog is now...

Quarantine has been all-consuming for everyone for months now. It's all we hear on the news. It's all we see posted on social media. And, rightfully so. We are in the middle of history. A global pandemic is rare for...

You’ve met the American Girls of history — Kit Kittredge, who weathered hard times with grit and gratitude during the Great Depression. Melody Ellison, who lifted her voice for fairness and freedom in 1963. Kaya, the Native America, who...

As you can imagine, over the course of the last year I participated in fewer coffee dates and practically zero lunches with dear friends. I didn’t grab brunch with my work bestie. I didn’t have playdates with friends from...

If you are like me — hiking is a great escape. It's free, it boosts our mental state, it gives us exercise, and it's basically homeschooling because we look at birds and moss and stuff. However, many of the nearby trails...

When the pandemic forced schools to shut down last spring, we had to shift gears quickly and find a way to educate our oldest child from home. Our kitchen table quickly became schoolwork headquarters. It wasn't perfect, but like...

Today starts Teacher Appreciation Week, running May 4-8, 2020. I don’t know about you, but normally our PTO would have been brainstorming, planning, creating, arranging, and executing decorations, surprises, food, and ways to show our teachers (and school staff!)...

What are you doing for Halloween? No really, what are you doing for Halloween? I have to admit that back in the spring when COVID-19 first started really moving around in Iowa I did not fathom that we would be having...

As I write this, we are in the thick of social distancing from the COVID-19 pandemic. In our family, our daily life looks something like this: My husband works from home and I homeschool my oldest two. We play,...