I love my children but in order to stay sane and have the patience required to be a good mom, I need to take care of myself. My 3 oldest go to school during the day and my youngest at 18 month old stays home with me. My husband travels out of town usually 4 days a week and my mom in law lives with us. So the way I take care of myself and recharge is by having some me time! Exercising At the beginning of the year, my husband visited several gyms in town and choose a membership to one close by. It is about a 5 minute…

With 2 months of summer time ahead of us the boys and I sat down to make a list of ideas of activities/places they would like to do. Of course, they came up with a list that could be quite hard on the budget so we will not do everything on their list but will try to hit one activity for each child. To save money we will use the Atlanta City pass because the zoo and the GA aquarium are included in it and we can visit the World of Coca Cola and maybe one more thing to get our money’s worth out of the pass. Our summer bucket…

So I have been writing this blog for 2 and 1/2 months now and wanted to share what I have learned and experienced so far. Writing I have truly enjoyed the writing process and coming up with post topics to share with my readers. I do like writing about our travels the most but we are not always on the go since we do have to save up for these trips. So I am learning to enjoy writing about other topics too. Fashion is probably the easiest to share about because I have always enjoyed clothes and buying them so taking pictures of what I typically wear or finding new…

About a month ago, my husband received a giftcard from a customer and I put that giftcard right to work. I headed to Ross and updated my non existent Spring decor. The first thing I wanted were some new throw pillows for the couch. I selected two gray ones that will  work for other seasons and chose a large yellow throw pillow too. I had found another smaller yellow pillow on clearance at Walmart earlier that week so it was perfect! Next I needed a few things to add to the mantle and table behind the couch: I like the sunshiny color of these fake tulips and the little sign…

4/1 We went shopping downtown (I found a scarf and two purses), had lunch then went hiking with my sister in law and her 2 children. 4/2 We planted some sunflower seeds, a couple tomato plants and some zinnias. 4/3 Had fun at Lakepoint station with the boys. 4/4 and 4/5 Sleepover at one of my best friend’s house. My oldest son has been friends with her son since they were 4. We went on a mural hunt in Athens, GA. 4/6 Nearing the end of our spring break. We walked around downtown for our little town’s BBQ and Brews festival. The boys had Kona Ice and their faces painted.…

As Orthodox christians the date for Easter (or Pascha) sometimes coincides with western Easter but sometimes it is a week or so later. The date for Pascha is determined as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full moon that falls on or after the spring equinox. This was established in 325 A.D.,  by the Council of Nicaea. This year Pascha or Orthodox Easter falls on April 28. We usually have our Pascha baskets blessed after the night liturgy. This is our Pascha basket this year. Traditionnally, you will place items that you fasted from through lent such as cheese, meats and special sweets. This time, I…

I remember a parent asking me one year at the beginning of the school year how many years I had taught and how many children I had. I guess she was concerned about my youth and wanted to make sure I was the right teacher for her son. While I have not been in the classroom for years now, I do have 6 years of experience in at the elementary level and also taught at the preschool level. I used the following literacy center with my third graders but also with 4 year old too, just using it for different activities. Storage Storage is important: you want your child to…

I grew up playing board games with my brothers. I remember playing Monopoly and if I didn’t get Board Walk I would give up! We played Scrabble, Mille Bornes, the Game of Life and a few more games. Once of my favorite games that I wish I could find was a game that had you touring France following different routes: I am hoping to find the game for sale somewhere on my trip but as of right now I don’t see it anywhere for sale. Since I try to limit screen time for my children, when they are not playing outside or reading, I encourage them to play board games.…

You can link up and join on Foxy’s Domestic Side as well as others! March 2019 3/1 Been making it to the gym 4-5 times a week, yay! 3/2 Tackling a bit project: the garage! 3/3 Garage makeover finished 3/6 BLOG WENT LIVE! 3/7 1st soccer game for N (5 years old). I am the coach for his team. Lots of fun! 3/8 My oldest was invited to his first middle school party at the roller skating rink. Fun and bruises! 3/9 J. scored 2 goals in soccer. Hubby cleaned a tub of junk in garage and we ended up with $80 in Home Depot store credit for unopened items.…