I’m typically not really a crafty person, but I do like making photo Valentines for the kids. I feel like they are more personal and a fun thing to save in their scrapbook, and I’ve managed to figure out how to make them on the cheap and without leaving my house. But on a more practical level, they tend to be easier to assemble than the store-bought variety, it allows me to avoid standing over 4 kids signing 25 valentines each. In past years I’ve done optical illusion Valentines using a closet . . .

As a blogger, I try to present my best self online. I think it’s common for everyone to do this, not just for bloggers. We are probably all intentional about how we present ourselves on Facebook and Twitter, editing out the photos that are not so flattering, and gleefully posting the ones that make our lives look idyllic. But behind the highlight reels, many of us are holding back secrets that we don’t tend to share in photos or blog posts. I am about to share one today: I struggle to get . . .

When my kids were little we read all the books and advice and landed on a few parenting strategies we felt were a good fit for our personality. We parented with love and logic and counted to 3 and employed reward charts. But that was back when we had patience. And younger kids. I hit a wall this week. A wall of exhaustion and frustration and lack of patience. A wall of fatigue from saying things out of my mouth that everyone ignores. And from that well of goodness, I began a new parenting . . .

I’m back to recapping The Bachelor with my friend Samantha from Raising Self and Sisterlocked. We were disappointed in this episode all around. Chris was boring, the girls were depressed, and we miss The Other Crazy Ashley. Still, Kelsey brought enough drama in this episode to make up for everyone else.   Who do you think Chris should send packing? . . .

I’m really not a big football fan. Or any sport, really. I grew up in an artsy-fartsy family with only sisters, so sitting around and watching sports was just not something we did. Consequently, this resonates with me a whole lot:   (source) I’m usually game for a Super Bowl party, though, because while I don’t enjoy sports, I do enjoy seven-layer-dip and talking. My friend Rebecca shares my lack of enthusiasm for sports so when she invited us over and said they had a bounce-house for the . . .