Sitting in the high school hallway absorbed in a book, I hadn’t noticed my science teacher standing over me. It wasn’t until I reached for my highlighter again that he remarked, “You know, Nicole… when you highlight everything, you’re really not highlighting anything at all.” It took me a long time to realize what he …
“But Mama,” my daughter protested, “I’m doing okay! I’ve kept it down!” It had been about 30 seconds since she had eagerly consumed her small piece of toast. For the last several days, she’d been sick. Everything she ate made a reappearance shortly after – usually all over the carpet. She had cried and suffered …
My favorite grocery store has an incredible variety of salt. There’s your ordinary sea salt but then there’s amazing varieties I’d never seen before. Pink sea salt from the Himalayas. Black sea salt from Hawaii. A strange pearly-looking variety from India. There are even some smoked and flavored varieties. It’s quite a display. They are …
Maybe it’s just something that happens to a mom who wakes up one morning and realizes she’s tired. Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually tired. Tired of failing. Tired of trying. Tired of pretending. Tired of seeking perfection, only to always fall short of the impossible goal. Maybe it’s just something that happens to someone who realizes that she’s spent her …
I learned a lot about the Skylanders and their abilities while I was planning Jack’s birthday party. The more I learned, the more I realized there are really limitless ideas that could be implemented for a Skylanders birthday party. I really wish I could’ve done more with this awesome theme! Fortunately, I think I just might get …
On Saturday, we celebrated Jack’s 8th birthday – Skylanders style! We had nine games and several themed treats. If I had more time, I would’ve loved to have done more with this theme… but for a busy mom on a budget, I think I did pretty well. The kids certainly enjoyed it! This one part …
“General Conference is a punishment for kids and a privilege for adults.” That’s what my then 7-year-old son said to me six weeks before the October 2013 session of General Conference. This semi-annual event is seriously one of my very favorite things in the world, so I had already started counting down the days. When he …
It’s been one of those days – the kind of disastrous days where everything goes wrong and the entire day spins out of control. A day filled with exploding diapers, toddler tantrums, uncooperative homeschoolers and spit up on every outfit. Everybody wants something – right! this! minute! – and nobody can get along. My patience runs out. Tempers …
We have a gorgeous kitchen in our rental home. In fact, the kitchen is one of the main reasons why we rented the home in the first place. After years of living in homes with small kitchens that offered very little space to cook or entertain, I fell in love with this house the moment I saw …
I don’t know how many times I told Colby to put his coat on. Probably a dozen at least. It didn’t take long to realize he hadn’t listened. After less than five minutes on the playground, he started to shiver in the cold November air. With six children, two pizza boxes, a bag of water bottles and …