Down For Adventure in Virginia Beach - Day 4 {Travel With Kids}

Life in a big family is always an adventure! Vacation is no different. Two parents + Four Kids + 1 Extra Chromosome + Our Favorite Beach Vacation Spot = Extra Fun Family Adventures!

Dirt Dessert Cups for Kids

Happy Earth Day! It's not really a holiday, but I like to do something fun to acknowledge the day. My kids are all about desserts, so I decided to whip up an easy batch of Dirt Dessert Cups to celebrate! (I even made a gluten free alternative for Liam!)

The Busy Mom's Guide To Beauty - 15 Time-saving Products I LOVE

I may be a busy mom to four children, but I still care about the way I look! I know that looks don't matter in the grand scheme of things, but truthfully, my appearance is the only thing that makes me feel like I'm more than just a mom. The reality, though, is that I just don't have enough time for an in-depth beauty routine, so time-saving products are a MUST!

Life Lately & Weekending

To say that life has been busy lately would be an understatement! The older my kids get, the busier life becomes. And sometimes, nearly a week goes by between blog posts. As much as I wish I could do it all, I simply can't, and my family ALWAYS comes first! 

Capture the Moments in March

Every month, I try to capture all the moments that make life so special! I know I take a LOT of pictures, but there's a good reason for it. So often I wish I could freeze time, but since that isn't possible, photos will have to serve as a reminder of all the moments I hold so dear. Someday, I'm going to be so thankful to have these moments to look back on!

10 Fun Ways To Encourage Family Bonding and Togetherness

This post is sponsored by I See Me! 

Family togetherness is very important to us! I come from a big family, but it's rare that we're all together. My husband's family is often the same way. Neither one of us are fans of that, so we do everything we can to encourage family bonding for our own little family. Our hope is that our tight-knit family will remain close, even when our kids are grown!

5 Easy Ways To Get Kids To Help With Spring Cleaning

As you can probably imagine, living with four kids, four large rabbits and a very large puppy is ridiculously messy. I spend most of my time cleaning up messes, so trying to fit in yearly Spring Cleaning is a huge undertaking. In order to tackle this job, I have to enlist the troops!

Easter 2018: No Words, Just Pictures

Easter 2018...sometimes it's best to just skip the words, and recap the moments with pictures!

Egg-cellent Easter Sensory Bin

Liam and Lily love sensory bins! We have a big collection of sensory bin fillers, and I try to rotate through themed bins twice a month. Sensory play is my secret weapon for those inevitable "I'm bored" moments! Our current Sensory Bin encourages egg-cellent Easter sensory play!

Easter Basket Fillers for Toddlers, Kids, Tweens & Teens

With Easter just days away, I, like many other parents, am scrambling to fill those Easter Baskets! We accumulate plenty of junk between four kids, so we try to make sure that almost every item in their baskets is useful or meaningful. And with a toddler/preschooler, a 6 year old, a tween and a teen, we have a lot of ideas to come up with!

Kids Fashion: The 5 Best Small Shops That Promote Positivity and Awareness

I love to shop! I mean...who doesn't?!? One of my favorite things to shop for is kids clothing. And with four kids, that can be VERY dangerous! Although my tween and my teen have strong opinions about what they want to wear, I shop small for most of Liam and Lily's clothing. There are so many amazing small shops that promote positivity and awareness, which is EXACTLY our mission.

World Down Syndrome Day: 21 Things You May Not Know About Down Syndrome

This post is sponsored by the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in collaboration with The Motherhood.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day! Today is a BIG day in the Down syndrome community. Today is a day in which we unite to raise awareness about Down syndrome, and to show the world that people who have Down syndrome really are more alike than different and have so much WORTH!

Life Lately Weekend Edition - Liam's Hospital Visit, The World's Largest Candy Store & St. Patrick's Day

Happy Monday! Our entire weekend was busy, and there was no time to rest. It kicked off with a VERY long day at the hospital, included a trip to the World's Largest Candy Store, was filled with St. Patrick's Day fun, and ended with a day full of errands. I feel like I need just one more day to recover from the weekend!

Deliciously Irresistible Vanilla Bean Shamrock Shake

With St. Patrick's Day just a few days away, I figured it was time to whip up a festive treat for my family! Milkshakes are always a quick and easy option! My family loves Shamrock Shakes, but I'm not a big fan of mint flavored milkshakes, so I made a milkshake that we all would love. Vanilla Bean was the winner!

I Scream, You Scream, We ALL Scream For Ice Cream!

This post is sponsored by Graeter's. 

Life with four kids can only be described as noisy, chaotic, and busy! It often feels like I'm frantically juggling every aspect of motherhood, and will never be able to slow down. There are days that are amazing...and days that are not. Some days are filled with so much joy that I honestly consider adding another kid to the mix, and some days are filled with so much bickering that it makes me wonder if my kids ever got along. That's just the reality of motherhood! But even on those rough days (like today), there's one simple thing we can all agree on: Ice Cream!

A Tisket A Tasket, A Chick In A Basket - A Fun & Rewarding Easter Tradition for Kids

DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Chick in a Basket.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays! It feels like a new beginning, and it's the light after a long, dark, cold winter. I look forward to it every year! The preparations have already begun, and my kids are ready to celebrate. Holidays with kids are a lot of fun, and this year, we're starting a fun new tradition: Chick in a Basket!

Dear Hollywood Screenwriters, Please Reconsider Your Use of the "R" Word

Dear Hollywood Screenwriters,

I tend to be an open minded person. I don't get offended about much, I don't get caught up in controversy, and I try to understand both sides of an issue. But today, I need to bring light to a very serious topic that affects millions of your fellow human beings, including my own family: the overuse of the word "retarded" in the entertainment industry.

The word "retard(ed)" isn't just a casual word to toss around in everyday conversation. It has one particular meaning, and it's directed at an entire community of people who have a disability. It's derogatory, it's hurtful and it's extremely offensive. Did you know that "retard" was voted the most offensive word related to a disability? So why do so many of you continue to use it so freely?

Life with Littles: February Moments & Memories

I love the month of February! It arrives with the promise of Winter being halfway over, and is usually full of fun events for my family. This February was even more exciting than usual! It began with a fun mini getaway for my family, and ended with a new puppy!

7 Awesome Ways To Build Language and Early Reading Skills with Dr.Seuss

We are celebrating National Read Across America Day today, which is the birthday Dr. Seuss! Between four kids, we have an expansive book collection, and some of our favorite books were written by this beloved children's author. Reading is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, so it's essential to encourage this habit while kids are young. Boosting language and early reading skills will help kids become confident and successful readers for life!

Puppy Love: Introducing Ella the English Mastiff

After a 3 year hiatus from dog ownership, our family grew by 4 feet this weekend! The kids have been begging for a puppy since our beloved Great Dane passed away, but I just wasn't ready to bring another dog into our lives. Their pleas could no longer be ignored, and I was starting to miss having a dog, so we started researching breeds 6 months ago. We finally decided an English Mastiff puppy would be a great fit for us, and we welcomed 11 week old Ella into our family on Saturday!

Happy Birthday, Lexie! The 11th Birthday & Yearly Interview

Our beautiful Alexandria Elizabeth celebrated her 11th Birthday today! The day Lexie was born was one of the happiest days of my life, and she continues to be an absolute joy who fills our days with so much love. Lexie is an extraordinary human being, and we celebrated her to the fullest today!

10 Incredibly Important Safety Precautions All Bloggers Should Take To Protect Their Kids Online

Blogging has come so far since I first started sharing my family nearly a decade ago! There's no doubt that blogs are a big business now. But as parenthood blogs continue to gain popularity, it's becoming even more important to take safety precautions to keep children safe in this sometimes scary online world!

The 8 Most Difficult Things About Switching a Young Child to a Gluten Free Diet

We are now 4 1/2 months into this gluten free journey, and I'm not going to sugar coat it...it sucks! Eliminating gluten from Liam's diet definitely made life more difficult. I truly wish this wasn't happening, but it's looking like it will be his reality forever.

Travel with Kids: Family Fun at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort + GIVEAWAY

DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Castaway Bay, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Last week, my family and I left Pittsburgh, and made the easy 2 1/2 hour trip to nearby Sandusky, Ohio, for two days of family fun at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort! The timing was perfect for a trip with kids. The winter blues were kicking in, and what better way to chase them away than by escaping to a fun, tropical-themed water park?!?

Snapshots of January

It's hard to believe the first month of 2018 is already over! I usually hate the month of January, because it's so blah with the holidays ending, and it's so long and cold. This year, however, I didn't have many complaints! It was actually a happy, fun, cozy month!

We Went On A Family Trip...And Left One of Our Kids At Home

Before we became parents, there were so many things my husband and I said we would NEVER do as parents. Even after we had children, we still had quite a few things on that never list. We quickly learned to never say never because life happens. And this weekend we did something on our never list...we went on a family trip and left one of our children at home!

Life Lately/Currently Loving in January 2018 ~What's Up (& WELCOME) Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, my friends! Can you believe it's the last day of January already? The first month of 2018 flew by! I'm usually not a big fan of January, but for some strange reason, it wasn't so bad this year. Perhaps I'm just getting older and starting to appreciate every gift life has to offer! (Although I AM finding it a bit difficult to appreciate weather below 32 degrees...just saying.) Because it's the last day of January, I thought it would be perfect to share a life lately/currently loving post!

A Day Trip With Liam {Life with Down syndrome}

When we brought Liam home from the hospital after his birth, there was no time to relax. With three older children, we were living a very busy life, and as the 4th child, Liam was along for the ride. He got used to life on the go when he was just a few days old! That has been our life for the past 4 years, and the truth is, Down syndrome was only a little hiccup on our parenthood journey. There simply wasn't time for it to be anything more!

Hygge Living: 11 Incredibly Simple Ways To Enjoy Your Life

When I first saw the word Hygge appear in my Pinterest feed, I ignored it.  I chalked it up to being one of those trends that bloggers seem to obsess over (like oil pulling), and I didn't give it a second thought. Those pins kept increasing in popularity, so a few weeks ago, I decided to do some quick research. I was immediately captivated by the concept!

Virginia Beach Family Vacation Diary: Day 3

It's time to take a break from my regularly scheduled blog content, and go back a few months in time to our Virginia Beach family vacation! We just might have had a 61 degree day yesterday, but the winter blues are hitting hard, and we are in the midst of the coldest, snowiest Winter we've had in years. I am counting down the days until we're back on the beach this Summer!

Should I Redshirt My Child (Who Has Down Syndrome) For Kindergarten...Or Not?

Almost 4 1/2 years have flown by since we first heard the words "We think he has Down syndrome." A lot has happened since then, but it doesn't feel like that many years have passed. Yet here we are, just 1 month away from Liam's Kindergarten transition meeting, and 8 months away from the start of Kindergarten. This can't be possible!

Our Merry Christmas...Just Not As Expected! (Welcome Wednesday Link Party)

Our Christmas this year was a happy one, but it definitely didn't turn out as expected! If you read my Christmas Eve post, then you know that Liam was not feeling well.  As soon as he woke up on Christmas morning, I knew our holiday was not going to go as planned. We made the most of it, and still managed to have a great day with our loved ones!

New Year, New Makeup, New YOU!

The start of the new year is always so exciting! It's a time to start fresh, and make changes to your routine. Out with the old and in with the new! I'm kicking off 2018 with a new winter look, and I'm using makeup that is actually BETTER for my skin than wearing no makeup at all! Read on to see a few of my new must haves, find out which makeup you should toss right now, and see how easy it is to save money on your new look!

Twas The Night Before Christmas

Christmas always seems to go by so quickly! Everybody counts down with so much anticipation, the big day finally arrives, then it's over in the blink of an eye. It's hard to believe that Christmas was 2 1/2 weeks ago! (And here I am FINALLY recapping Christmas Eve!)

INTRODUCING: Welcome Wednesday Link Party!!! (+ Life Lately)

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I hope 2018 is off to a great start for you.  I know many of you are missing the Tuesday Talk link party that ended late last year, so a few of the Tuesday Talk bloggers joined together to bring you Welcome Wednesday!

40 Attainable Goals for 2018

2018 is off to a rapid start! My January calendar is already full, and we are only 4 days in. (How does that happen?!?) Even though I don't believe in setting New Year's resolutions, I do like to jot down a few goals that I have for the following year. I only have one rule: The goals MUST be attainable!

Ringing in 2018!

Happy New Year, my friends! I can't believe it's officially 2018. I remember ringing in Y2K with Grant, and here we are, 18 years later!!!