Before we started our family, my husband and I knew that we wanted our children to participate in church life with us. The church that we were going to at the time had a practice of separating children from adults during the Sunday service, and we weren’t sure that’s what we wanted for our children.…
Thrifting has got to be one of my favorite ways to save money and support sustainable living. Besides the obvious benefit of saving a ton of money on clothes and household items I already need, – especially with constantly growing kids – thrifting for my family is actually a great way to benefit my community…
I’ve been struggling lately. As a mom. As a human. For some reason, I find myself in the mothering doldrums every year around Mother’s Day. The day comes and goes, but I have really small kids and a nonexistent budget for brunches or presents, so it’s a day just like any other. Nearly every year…
I always thought that sewing for little boys was way less fun than sewing for little girls. No dresses, frocks, ruffles, or cute little accents. Just pants, dress shirts, and loads of straight lines. When Kyriakos surprised us (me) by being a boy, my hopes for sewing matching little dresses and bows for Paisley and…
Lest anyone be deluded by the idea that I’ve got my poop together, let’s talk about my morning today… I need to go to the post office to check our company PO box and to Target to get some Band-Aids and toothpaste. By the way, we need Band-Aids because someone skinned their knees in the…
Happy Earth Day, Friends! Earth Day is one of those days that never really used to be on my radar until I had kids and started buying products from brands that are pretty hip to the Earth Day festivities. Aka: they offer HUGE sales. Seriously, if you’re in the market for cloth diapers – or…
When I got married at age 22 and had my first baby just 10 days shy of my 24th birthday, I had a lot of people my age telling me that they didn’t want to settle down yet because they had important things to do. Like travel. As it turns out, I’ve had the opportunity…
After I had Colm, I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d want to try for a natural birth the next time around. While I certainly benefitted from the experience more than I did from the induction and epidural I’d had with Paisley, it was no walk in the park. When I found out I was…
Shortly after finding out she’s pregnant, one of the first decisions the expectant mom must make is where she’s going to go for her prenatal care. When I found out I was pregnant with Baby Rystedt V3, I started looking for providers that would be more supportive of my desire for natural birth than my…
It’s hard to believe that we’re already at the end of another year. It seems that each year to pass brings more surprises and challenges… Maybe that’s just growing up. This year was certainly no exception. Winter At the beginning of the year, we had an almost two-year-old and a four-month-old. It’s crazy to me that…
