A Letter to My Mom on Her Birthday

September 15, 2013 By Lindsay 2 Comments

I swear that time just keeps on flying by me. Today, September 15th, is my mother’s birthday. So, to celebrate it, I thought I’d write a letter to my mom on her birthday.

Letter to My Mom on Her Birthday

Dear Mom,

I know that we often have a difficult time communicating with one another. In many ways, we are the exact opposite. We have very different perspectives on how things should be done. We even disagree on which way the toilet paper should be facing on the roll (I’m totally with dad on this one). We’ve managed to embarrass the other one countless times over the past 23 years. However, that doesn’t change the fact that you are my mother and I love you.

Even though you really do annoy me sometimes, I couldn’t imagine having a different mother. You have always been and will continue to be my biggest cheerleader. You taught me from an early age that I was expected to be a strong, independent female. You admitted your mistakes, in hopes that I could learn from them and not repeat them (I like to think that I have managed to do just that). You’ve always managed to make me feel loved (even in the middle of a fight, I never doubted it).

I don’t think that you will ever read this. However, I hope you know that I truly appreciate everything you have done for me. The past few years years have been terribly difficult for us and I still worry about you without dad now. I just hope that you are able to find some fulfilling hobbies in the near future and to live a happy, healthy life.

So, happy birthday mom! I hope today is filled with nothing but good things… good food, good laughs, and even a good movie. You deserve it.

<3 Lindsay

Easy Pumpkin Plate Craft Fall Activity for Kids

September 11, 2013 By Lindsay 1 Comment

You might not know it, but I love pumpkins. I love the way they look (they are so cute and round) and everything with it tastes delicious. To share my love of pumpkins this year, I decided to do a post that was out of the ordinary for me. I’m going to share my very easy pumpkin plate craft fall activity for kids (of any age). Take a look at how cute it is!

Pumpkin Plate Craft

A pumpkin plate craft is great for a cool, fall day because it’s so easy to make. I like this craft because most of us have a spare paper plate or two laying around (the house or the classroom). So, this activity uses things that you won’t have to go out to purchase (those are always my favorite types).

Materials Needed

Paper Plate
Orange Crayon or Colored Pencil
Scissors
Black Construction Paper
Glue
Ink pen or pencil
Jack-o-lantern printable or stencil

Steps

Color a plate orange.
Print out the jack-o-lantern face.
The one I used is below and you are welcome to print it out and cut as you see fit. Alternatively, you could just have the kids color the paper orange. I made it on PicMonkey, which has some other options.
Cut it out and trace around it onto a piece of black construction paper. Then, cut it out and glue it onto the plate. Viola! A super easy pumpkin plate craft for fall.
Optional: Cut out a piece of green construction paper to make a stem or handle for it.

So, what do you think of my pumpkin craft plate? Will you be making one with your kids or do you prefer to do it old school by decorating on or carving a real pumpkin? Interested in another easy Halloween idea? Check out my Halloween Cereal Treats!

My First Father’s Day without Dad: Here’s to Hoping for the Best

June 15, 2013 By Lindsay 6 Comments

It’s hard to believe that my dad has been gone for six months now. I think about him everyday. I wrote a couple of weeks back that grieving the loss of my father is still hard and that I was dreading my first Father’s Day without dad. Tomorrow is finally the big day and I’m still dreading it.

Father’s Day without Dad

I’ve also mentioned in the past that I’ve found it very hard to find any motivation to do anything lately. You can see my lack of motivation to post by seeing the timestamp on this post. It’s after 2 pm on a Saturday and here I sit writing this post. I always have my posts ready to go for the weekend by Thursday or Friday at the latest. However, I got a post done for Friday on Thursday and then quit. It’s so easy to try and find something on social media to distract me that I haven’t done a whole lot of blogging at any one time here lately. I think that’s because I’m literally trying to distract myself from missing my dad. I’ve been told that the first year without a loved one is the hardest. So, I’m hoping that the following father’s day without dad get easier.

I’ve been dreading this weekend for a month now. Today hasn’t been as hard as I anticipated, but it’s still early yet. I’m hoping I don’t break down soon. Tomorrow, I don’t plan to go out and about. I hope that by being with loved ones, I can cope with the loss on my own. It doesn’t mean that I won’t miss dad or it won’t be hard. I just don’t think I could handle going out and seeing everyone else celebrating the day with their dad.

So, if you’ve lost your dad, how do you handle father’s day without dad? Do you ignore the day or do you do something in remembrance of him?

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Facial: The Perfect D.I.Y. Mother’s Day Gift

April 14, 2013 By Lindsay 3 Comments

Almost two years ago, I posted the Bonding Over Beauty Book Review on the book by Erika Katz. Now, just in time for Mother’s Day, I wanted to share the Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Facial from her. It’s super easy to make with ingredients that can be found around the house. I might have to make this for my mom this year since I think she deserves something really special.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Facial

Like I said, this is a super easy D.I.Y. activity. Just look at the common ingredients it contains.

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons dry, uncooked oatmeal

Now, look at how easy it is to make.

Mix all ingredients well in a small bowl.
Apply mask all over face and let sit for 10 minutes.
Rinse with warm water.

Please note: This recipe should be used right away. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week but must be brought to room temperature to use.

See how easy that is? I know that we have at least half of those ingredients in our cupboard right now (maybe all of them). I also know that I can make this at a moment’s notice. So, if Mother’s Day sneaks up on me, I can just grab these things from the pantry and whip it up for my mom. Then, since all my mom has to do is let it sit for 10 minutes, she shouldn’t complain about it. My mom’s a very low maintenance person, so she should enjoy the chance to do something for her skin that isn’t time consuming or difficult. Plus, just look at the benefits of using this Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Facial:

Oatmeal is a wonderful ingredient to calm irritated skin and absorb excess oil. It also cleanses pores. Chocolate has antioxidants which prevent damage to the skin’s elastin, hydrate the skin, and give it moisture. The heavy cream smoothes and softens skin.

So, what do you think of this super easy Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Facial? If you want to find more tips like this one, you can check out Erika Katz’s website, Bonding Over Beauty.

Disclosure: Nothing was received for this post. I just wanted to share a super quick D.I.Y. chocolate oatmeal cookie facial for Mother’s Day with my readers. The opinions expressed are my own.

Long-term Substitute Teacher: Pros and Cons

February 25, 2013 By Lindsay 7 Comments

You may have noticed that since I returned from the Shot@Life Champion Summit, I haven’t been around much. That’s because I returned on a Wednesday and then immediately started a long-term substitute teacher position on that Thursday. That means I’ve been staying busy offline and haven’t had as much time to write posts or respond to emails. So, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the differences between regular subbing and being a long-term substitute teacher.

Regular Substitute Teaching

More free time. When I’m not working everyday, I have time to blog and do other things around the house.
Inconsistent. The con of that is I never know my schedule and can’t make plans. It also means that the pay can be inconsistent.
Get to know more people. Regular subbing allows me to be in multiple schools and to meet different kids and principals.
It can be hard. By being a new face in the school, the students tend to try to test the limits with you.

Long-term Substitute Teacher

Consistency. I have a reliable schedule/routine and pay.
Relationships. I can build relationships with students and the staff.
Lots is unknown. This is my second long-term substitute teacher position. In neither of these cases have I been told how long the position would be for.
Better pay. They school systems pay per day. So, they automatically increase the rate when you work 10 consecutive days in one position.
Time suck. This whole working all day, everyday is taking up lots of my time. Plus, I’m currently having to do lesson plans and some other stuff at home which also takes up my free time.

So, what do you think of being a regular sub versus a long-term substitute teacher? Do you think it’s better to be a regular one with a day-to-day schedule or a more expected one as a long-term substitute teacher?